The Clash of the Dead and Living
by nikkiInRed
Summary: Sacrifice for the person you love. Love until death. . . Will Solace is a doctor who has special abilities in healing and who has an ability to see death angels, one of those death angels he can see is Nico di Angelo. From two different worlds, love collides. SOLANGELO. AU. COMPLETE. Fic under construction. Currently, revising/editing.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: All PJO characters goes to Uncle Rick. I don't own anything.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

 _Three Rules of a death angel_

-Do not interfere with the Fates.

-Do not take the soul of a living, only the dead.

-Do not let your dead heart tarnish with human emotions.

And oh, an additional and personal rule for a death angel that goes with a name of Nico di angelo.

-TREAT THAT STUPID DOCTOR WITH THE NAME OF WILLIAM SOLACE AS AN ENEMY. BECAUSE HE IS ANNOYING AND FRUSTRATING WHO ALWAYS INTERFERE WITH NICO'S SCHEDULE.

 _Only Rule of a doctor_

-Save a life.

And oh, an additional and personal rule for a doctor that goes with a name of William Solace

-TREAT THAT STUPID DEATH ANGEL WITH THE NAME OF NICO DI ANGELO AS AN ENEMY. BECAUSE HE IS ANNOYING AND FRUSTRATING WHO ALWAYS INTERFERE WITH WILLIAM'S ONLY RULE.

Rules that Nico and Will strictly and needed to abide in order to do their respective jobs properly. But what if the rules got broken and all Hades broke loose. Is it possible for a thing called love ignite between the two?

* * *

 **This whole fic is under revision/editing. I don't know how long it will take me to finish since there were fifty chapters to fix. For the mean time, please bear with me.**

 **Love,**

 **Nikki**


	2. I-WILL

**PART I**

 **PUNISHMENT**

* * *

 **I**

 **WILL**

When Will Solace received a call from Lou Ellen, his friend and who also happened to be the on-duty nurse at the emergency room, he had a sudden ominous feeling that he wasn't going home any time soon that morning. Call it, doctor's instincts, but years of working at Jupiter Half blood Hospital polished the said instincts that it rarely failed him. So, Will swiped his phone screen to answer the call. He was staring at the window in front of him as he held his phone against his ear. His light blue eyes were brighter from the sunlight seeping through the window.

"Hello, Lou-"

But Lou beat him on the other line, her voice was rushed. "I'm so sorry. I know that your duty's finished and you're about to go home but we could really use a cardio thoracic surgeon right now. There's an incoming patient with multiple gunshot wounds and one bullet wound in the chest."

"All right, I'm coming." Will said. See, doctor's instincts scored points again early in the morning.

"You're the best, Will. You're teaming up with Dr. Fletcher on this one. Patient's ETA is five minutes."

"Yeah, sure, I'll be waiting in the operating room." Then Will hang up.

Will looked down and stared longingly at the backpack on the table waiting for him to be carried back at home. He hadn't been home in two days and he missed his own bed back at his apartment. But of course, it was duty's call and it meant he had to set aside his own pleasure and comfort for the sake of others. It was something he had accepted long before he embraced this job. There were people who were relying to him to live and it's not like Will could deny them of that.

So, Will found himself standing in front of a full body length mirror in the corner of the on-call room. The room was mostly littered with empty packs of Chinese takeouts and bottles of energy drinks. The bunk bed, that was situated by the wall, almost turned into a coat rack with doctors' white lab coats hanging on its corners. A shelf was pushed by the other side of the wall. It was loaded with several thick medical books and some were haphazardly shoved in it. The room was a whirlwind of mess than Will would have liked but that room was the closest place he could call home. He shoved his tanned arms inside the sleeves of his long white lab coat. He tugged the collar of the coat for final adjustment. Underneath the white coat, was his light blue surgeon's scrub shirt. He combed his tousled blond hair with his fingers and briefly stared at his reflection. There were bags under his eyes and he looked like he badly needed to crash a bed and rest.

Which, he really needed.

But again, duty's call.

So, Will smiled, his dimples showing up.

This was his life most of the time, always tired and occasionally sleeps but hey he didn't say that he didn't love his job.

Will entered the operating room with a mask on his face and scrub hat covering his mop of blond hair. A nurse came to him and assisted him in wearing protective clothing and another nurse was helping him wear a pair of latex gloves. Will was gazing at the patient unconscious on the bed and hooked to several medical machines.

"You've seen his CT scan results?" Dr. Lee Fletcher came up to Will who was also geared in the same attire as the blond doctor. "Jesus, I don't know how he's still alive-"

"And let's be thankful, that he is." Will strode towards the patient. "I'll go first, it was just an extraction of bullet that stopped at the pericardium, it should only take a minute." He reached the side of the bed.

"Of course," Fletcher nodded in awe at Will as he stood on the other side of the bed "It will probably just take a minute for you and hours for me since I have to extract bullet wounds around the pancreas, small intestine and kidney."

"Good luck," Will looked up at Fletcher.

And so, the surgery began when Will sliced up the chest open with his scalpel.

"Suction," Will ordered to Lou. And the blond continued to work as his hand moved skillfully on the chest cavity, hands that knew what to touch inside a human chest and what instrument to pick to aid him. It was more of a muscle memory, from years of practice and training.

True to his words, Will had managed to extract the bullet wound in a minute, as he pulled out the tweezers with a bullet from the opened chest. Will dropped the bullet in the metal plate. The bullet made a _clink_ sound as a metal hit another metal.

"Gosh, I felt like, it only lasted thirty seconds," Fletcher commented, still in awe.

"Don't, just don't make it sound easy. It made me feel queasy. Nothing is easy when it comes to surgery." Will had started to stitch up the perforated heart. His gloved hands were expertly moving swiftly with every twist and knot he was making with the nylon thread.

"Cut," Will ordered again, and Lou cut the thread with a pair of scissors.

Will gazed up once again at Fletcher, "Now, he's all yours-"

Suddenly the heart monitor of the said patient beeped. A flat line was indicated on the screen that alerted them.

"He is in cardiac arrest!" Lou Ellen reported.

"See, I told you nothing is easy in surgery." Will muttered and picked up the two metal spoon-like equipment with wires attached at its end, the internal paddles of a defibrillator.

"Charge to 20 Joules." Will ordered.

He put the paddles at either side of the heart. "Clear,"

Will looked at the heart monitor as he pulled out the paddles from the heart, still flatline.

"Charge to 60 J." Will said again.

"Clear," He repeated the process.

There was still no response.

Suddenly in the corner of the operating room, a guy clad in all black appeared from a wisp of black smoke. Will noticed him immediately and his eyes widen. He knew the guy in black very well, as a guy like him always appeared every time there's someone who's in the brink of dying. He's a death angel with a name of Nico di Angelo. Not everyone could see a death angel but Will was one of the few.

"No!" Will growled underneath his mask.

"He's mine, Solace." Nico greeted his teeth.

"I said no." Will whispered. He knew that Nico heard him.

Will set aside the paddles and started massaging the heart.

"Just give him up!" Nico hissed.

"No, he still has a chance." Will said and smirked. Suddenly, he glowed in a golden light invisible to everyone else but to Nico.

"No! You little-" Nico cursed.

Meanwhile, Will continued to massage the heart while repeating the mantra in his head. _You will live._ Seconds after, the heartbeat of the patient went back. The lines on the monitor rose and fell. And as Will looked down at the heart, it was truly beating back.

Will smiled in relief as the glow around him faded. He gave Nico a wink.

Nico just continued to glare at him. He dissolved in the air, leaving a trail of black smoke behind.

It was already afternoon when the operation had successfully ended and all the bullets had been removed from the patient, whose name was Percy Jackson. Will was exhausted, the kind of I-am-going-to-drop-on-the-floor-any-second-by-now exhausted. It didn't help that he used his glowing trick that he could barely make a walk back to the on-call room and get his things so he could go home.

Will discovered his glowing trick when he was nine and when he accidentally healed a pet dog. And ever since that day, he also had started to see death angels from time to time. Witnessing those death angels took the souls of those dead people, was the reason why he became a doctor. He wanted to save life and prevented the sorrows of those people because their love once died.

Where this power came from, Will had no idea. But it doesn't matter to him, as long as he was able to save people with his power. Using that power too, he created some enemies from the Dead. Because every time Will glowed it means no soul for the death angels. One of those enemies was Nico di Angelo.

Will leaned on the wall to rest for a bit. He closed his eyes. He was so tempted to sleep on the floor right there.

Then, he opened his eyes and stood straighter. He summoned last of his strength to make a trip back to the on-call room. He turned to walk but paused when he saw Nico di Angelo striding towards his direction. From years of knowing the death angel, Will hardly jumped out of his skin in surprise every time Nico would appear out of nowhere.

Since there were no other people in the hallway, Will spoke raising an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"

"Yes, I have a tight schedule since I wasn't able to reach my quota because of meddling people like someone I know." Nico said as he continued to walk towards him, he had this hard look on his face.

Will shrugged. "Couldn't help it. It's my job."

"But you're cheating!" Nico hissed stopping in front of Will. "No normal doctor would be able to save Perseus Jackson from his demise. You are always interfering with the course of death!"

"He responded to my power that means he can be saved and it's not my fault if I have this glowing trick, I am just putting it into use." Will shrugged again and then he sighed. "And besides you already know the cycle of all these things, shouldn't you at least get used to it?"

"What? Get used to having an over time in the Underworld just because you happened?" Nico spat.

Will was going to throw some witty remark when his vision suddenly tilt and he fell forward.

"What in Hades Solace?!" Nico said in outburst holding both of Will's shoulder preventing the doctor from kissing the floor.

"Sorry about that, lack of sleep and glowing trick was not a good combination." Will tried to steady himself. Nico immediately released him.

"Why do you keep on using that power when you know it's dangerous? When you drained yourself, your soul is possibly the next one I need to take to the Underworld." Nico said.

Despite Will's growing vertigo, he couldn't help but smile while rubbing his temple "Did I detect some concern from an enemy?"

"Concern?!" Nico looked scandalized. "We death angels don't feel human emotions. Nothing beats here." He pointed at his chest.

Will frowned at his statement. "Pity. Human emotions are quite fascinating if you asked me."

"We don't need it. Emotions make one person pathetic." Nico said

"Another Pity." This time Will put his hands on the front pockets of his long white coat.

"I don't care." Nico walked passed him. "You need a rest."

Will looked back at the retreating figure of the death angel. Most of the time, he was annoyed at Nico because he was always grumpy and angry and cold-hearted. But there were teeny-tiny moments that Will couldn't help but feel amused every time Nico was going to throw random things that were out of his character, like throwing a you-need-a-rest line. It was a mere statement from Nico's own observation rather than a show of sympathy or concern but still...

So, there were also times that Will would question if death angels didn't really have emotions….


	3. II - WILL

**II**

 **WILL**

"So you have patient Jackson huh?" Kayla Knowles, a fellow doctor, peered at the patient's chart Will was holding. They were both standing by the counter in the nurse station looking through the charts of several patients as another night duty had just started for them.

Will faced her. "Why? Do you know him?"

"Nope, but his fellow police officer, Jason Grace, was my patient." Kayla said. "Don't you know that there was a drug raid in the downtown and two unfortunate police detectives were shot and that's our patients."

"New York never sleeps, so are the drug dealers." Will muttered.

"Right, but your patient is lucky, he's now stable but mine is still in the ICU under observation. I hope he survives coz he was kind of cute and he is blondie like you Willie" Kayla rambled. "And I hope he's single and ready to mingle."

Will fully faced Kayla and put his hands on his hips "And what if he's taken? Will you let him die? Huh?"

"Tss. It's not like that-" Kayla never finished what she's going say when the intercom beeped and echoed in the station where they were.

' _Paging, Dr. Kayla Knowles please proceed to ICU A-3. Code Blue.'_

"That's what I was talking about," Kayla muttered. "See yah later Will." And then she ran off towards the narrow hallway.

Will sighed and hoped that patient Grace survives. He turned back on his chart when he caught something black on his peripheral vision. His head snapped where he'd seen the black. Surely, another death angel was walking towards the direction where Kayla had ran to earlier. And it happened that Will knew the death angel, it was Bianca di Angelo, sister of Nico di Angelo.

Will was kind of amused when he learned that death angels could have relatives. He initially thought that they were just random soul-pickers. And if there were a family of death angels, he imagined a son and father bonding moment was like _'Hey son, let's go fish some souls and bring them in the underworld. How's that?'_ Will also wondered about how they express their love or affection to their relatives if all of them were poker-faced and cold-hearted types, or if there was anything like that in their dark and brooding association. Unfortunately, the blond doctor hadn't yet solved those mysteries. As if he could ask them when majority of them were snob and most of them hated him.

He set aside the chart and followed Bianca. He walked next to her, matching her pace.

"What do you want Solace?" Bianca said, not even bothering to look at him.

"Are you going to take the soul in the A-3?" Will asked quietly. There were a group of people walking in his direction. Better be cautious rather than be a lunatic doctor in front of them who was talking to someone invisible to them.

"None of your business," Bianca snapped.

They both stopped in front of the ICU A-3. The door was wide open and Will could see that Kayla was trying to resurrect the patient. The heart monitor was releasing a long beeping sound and a flat line was indicated on the screen.

"You've pissed off my brother again earlier." Bianca stated leaning on the door frame

"What's new?" Will mused.

"Can you save him?" Bianca pointed her thumb to Jason Grace, whose body was jerking up as the paddles of defibrillator hit his bare chest.

"He's not my patient." Will answered who was also looking at Jason

"But if he was yours, are you going to use that glowing trick again?" Bianca asked "You know sometimes, I was thinking if you became a doctor because of your special abilities rather than skills."

"What?" Will's head snapped to Bianca

"I was wondering, what if you don't have _that_ power, are you still a doctor now?" Bianca continued smirking at him.

Will was stunned. He felt like he had been punched in the gut. He understood the dislike of death angels to him and how he could get under their skins, but years of dislike never result to insults. The first time he'd seen Bianca, he immediately did not like the vibes she emitted. It was a _different_ kind of dislike he usually felt from the other death angels. Now, she's proving Will right about the different dislike vibes.

The change of the beeping sound brought Will back to earth. He looked at the heart monitor to see that there was already a rise and fall of the lines.

"Gotta go, my soul is waiting next door," Bianca straightened herself and walked passed him. Then she passed through a concrete wall next to the ICU leaving a trail of black smoke.

Bianca's gone but her words echoed in Will's head repeatedly.

 _Sometimes, I was thinking if you became a doctor because of your special abilities rather than skills._

Will found himself sitting Indian style in the middle of the helipad of the hospital watching the rise of the sun and as the light ate away the darkness in the horizon. His shift had already ended a little while so he had the privilege to see this majestic view. He adored the sun. He liked the light and the warmth it brought. That's why his favorite season of the year was summer, which was the current season. For Will, every morning that the sun would rise up in the sky, it was a reassurance for him that there's always light after darkness.

But as of the moment, Will did not feel so reassured. He tried to get it out of his head and fight the doubt that Bianca had left for him. But what if Bianca was right? What if all this time, he was relying to his powers to do his job, like using _that_ ability in _crucial moments_ instead of using his own wits and skills? After all this time, it only dawned upon him the possible unfairness of his power because all he thought was how to save his patients by any means.

He stared at his own hands. What if…

"I still don't get it why you like that bright ball of hot gas when all it gives is scorching heat."

Will looked up. Nico was standing next to him staring at the horizon. Will couldn't help but to be in awe as he gazed at the death angel standing there with his thumbs hooked at the pocket of his black jeans. Under the glow of fluorescent lights Nico looked so pale and colorless, but it was entirely different when the sunlight hit him. He was like glowing. Not the kind of glow Will emitted every time he used his power. The glow Nico had was seemed more… livelier... He really looked like an angel without those death vibes trailing after him...

"The sun looks good on you." Will complimented.

Nico snorted. "Well, I don't like the sun."

"Then why are you here?" Will frowned.

"I was trying to see it myself what made you mortals took such an abnormal liking of that sun." Nico answered.

"Well, don't look closely and just looked at the whole package. Most of us don't really like the sun in particular but the view that accompanies it. The clouds, the birds, the tiny building from afar… you get it"

Nico's eyebrows knitted together. "I don't get it."

Will shook his head. "Maybe not now but soon, you'll appreciate it."

Then they fell into silence and Will stared back at the horizon.

"Nico," Will called out uncertainly. He bit his lip. He continued to look at the red-orange hue clouds drifting in the sky. "Have you encountered other people like me...? Like you know people with a glowing trick..."

Nico glanced down at him.

"What's with that question?" Nico asked.

"Nothing, just curious.."

It took a moment before Nico answered. "No, from the people I have encountered, you are the only one…"

Will nodded in acknowledgement. "And I was wondering, if I didn't have this power in me, will I still be a doctor..?"

This time, the death angel turned fully at the doctor. "Are you asking me that question? Because seriously, you are the only one who could answer that. I was not the one who became a doctor."

Will shrugged playing with the hem of his scrub shirt. "I don't know, I decided to be a doctor when I accidentally healed my dog using that glowing trick, so maybe, I thought, it would be a little different if I didn't have this _thing._ "

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be a veterinarian then, instead of being a doctor?"

Will couldn't help but to smile. He looked up at him once again. "Are you throwing a joke now?"

Nico scowled but looked away. "I wasn't."

"Anyway, well maybe because, I hate you death angels taking those souls away from a body where there are people weeping beside that soul-less and lifeless body." Will stated.

"What if, you can't see us?" Nico countered. "What will be your other reasons for being a doctor?"

Will just stared up at Nico.

Nico scratched his head. "You know what, I also don't know why I am talking pointless and non-sense to you." He suddenly turned around and walked away.

"Hey!" Will stood up and jogged to catch up with Nico.

They both went down the stairs and rode an elevator descending to lower floors.

As the elevator descend, Will and Nico were apart and stood at the both end corner of the elevator. Nico was looking around curiously at the steel walls of the elevator as if searching for souls who could pop up out of nowhere, while Will was leaning back on the wall facing Nico. He was observing the latter guy with his hands on his light blue surgeon shirt's front pocket.

"Aren't you going to disappear in black smoke like you always did?" Will raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sometimes, I do like the mode of transportation you mortals have." Nico continued to look around.

The elevator door opened and Nico walked out.

"Hey, where are you going?" Will asked and couldn't help but to follow him. Will recognize the floor, he had several patients in that floor.

"Oi, you are not going to pick souls in here, aren't you?" Will walked next to him, slightly afraid of Nico's destination.

"The dude with a big gash on his stomach has a big possibility of death, so he might be up, sooner or later." Nico said.

"I won't let you." Will gritted his teeth

"Of course you won't." Nico waved his hand in dismissal. "As I have said, there's a possibility. There's still a difference."

They climbed down a flight of stairs and Will thought that if they're going to go down another floor they shouldn't have leave the elevator. They passed another case of stairs and Will was going to ask where they were going when he saw a girl sitting at the end of the steps. She had a long curly blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She was sniffing as if crying. Will looked around and realized that Nico was gone. Will frowned at the sudden disappearance of the death angel. But then he focused his attention on the girl. Cautiously and slowly, he approached her.

"Err, Miss," Will called uncertainly. "Are you all right?"

The said blonde girl abruptly stood up in surprise. She has stormy gray eyes, but it was red from obvious crying, her nose was slightly puffy and red too.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Will said.

"It's fine." The blonde girl said wiping her face with her hand.

"Are you crying because … you lost someone?" Will asked uncertainly again.

The blonde girl suddenly laughed that surprised Will. "Oh no, it's not. It's quite the opposite actually, my husband Percy lives so this was kind of tears of joy…"

"Percy?" Will said. "You mean Percy Jackson?"

The girl frowned and looked up and down as if assessing Will. "How did you..."

Will just smiled. "I am his doctor. Will Solace." He extended his hand for handshake.

The girl's eyes widen, she grabbed Will's extended hand not for a handshake but she pulled the doctor into a hug. Will froze in surprise.

"Oh, my god, you're the one who saved my husband! Thank you so much!" she sobbed.

Will smiled and patted her back comfortingly. "No problem, I was just doing my job."

She pulled away. She sniffed and then laughed. "No, because of you, this child won't be fatherless." She rubbed her flat abdomen.

Will's eyes widen. "You're pregnant?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yep, learned the other day while my husband was on a stake out and can you imagine my horror when I received a phone call about my husband getting shot. So thank you doc. By the way, I am Annabeth Chase-Jackson." This time, she's the one who extended her hand for a handshake.

Will accepted it. His internal self was dancing in joy to know that he saved more than just a life. He momentarily paused and wondered if Nico's true intention was to lead him here.

Powers or skills he was there to save a life and build a good future for him and for the other people around him. He suddenly remembered, the loud pulse in his veins, every time he was inside the operating room. The adrenaline cursing in his blood every time, he would have to heal a patient. Lastly, the pure bliss he would have felt every time he had successfully managed to save a patient's life, like what he felt in that moment.

For Will, it was more than the Hippocratic Oath he pledged for and it was more than a job he signed up for. It was his _calling_.

He mentally thanked the death angel for giving him concrete reasons why he was there in the first place.


	4. III - NICO

**III**

 **NICO**

Nico wouldn't admit this to anyone but he's always confused.

He tried so hard to understand the ways and life of mortals but never reached any conclusion. He did not understand why a girl will get teary-eyed over a stem of flower. What was so beautiful about sunrise and sunset, why people will cry over a hamster, why people fight over a purse or why would they spend millions of dollars on a long rectangular cement box they called house. Or why they put so much effort on people or things when eventually everyone and everything will fall apart and perish. He couldn't understand why people try so hard...

And there's Will Solace who added to the tons of things that confused him. There were a lot of things that confused Nico about Will, like he couldn't understand the dedication of the guy on his job, when in the end no matter how you save or try to heal someone he or she will die too at someone point in the future. Was it more convenient to let someone experience death in the first place, so the expenses on medicines, hospital bills and effort will be lessened?

However, Nico had accomplished something so far. If there's one thing to know about Will Solace he really liked his job that he'll get upset when something went wrong with it. From years of observation from afar and from time to time encounters, Will was happy when he was able to restore someone's health, when someone appreciate the job he was doing and when he was able to revive someone from the dead which annoy Nico to no end, because Will kept on breaking his quota for souls. Death angels always have a deadline and there's a punishment for not reaching a quota for a certain amount of time. He wouldn't forget the first time when he received his own punishment when he failed to reach his quota because of Will and his glowing trick.

Anyway, happy Will means there will be a familiar grin on his face and his pale bright blue eyes will twinkle in delight. Nico swore that Will was an annoying enemy but he would often forget that part every time he will see the blonde doctor have those delightful expressions, which also confused him to no end. You know, how could he forget that Will was an enemy because of a mere smile or laugh on his face. It made no sense to him. Though, he wouldn't admit this to anyone but it was nice seeing Will smile or laugh.

Bianca had warned him about getting too attach to mortals and their lives. She always told him that mortal lives above the underworld had nothing to do with them. That, death angels belong in the dead and not in the living, so they should stay out of mortal's way and just focus on their own job, which was to escort souls towards the underworld.

But sometimes, ever since meeting and knowing Will, Nico would be reckless about his sister's warning. He did not know the reason himself but he liked poking on Will's life, his interest and other things that made Will smile or laugh which Nico liked to see often.

It was frustrating honestly on how Nico could somehow invest so much time on solving the mystery of Will Solace. It was like there's always layer of veils that covered the blond. Nico knew in his mind that he should just drop the case but he just couldn't… and again and again and freaking again, he did not know why he couldn't!

Nico was walking down the bronze floor of Hades Palace in the underworld when he saw a fellow death angel Bob Iapetus sweeping the floor. Bob was very big and bulky as he was thrice the size of Nico. He was wearing a Janitor's uniform.

"Bob," Nico called to him and Bob immediately looked at Nico's direction. Bob's face lit up upon seeing Nico.

Of all the death angels Nico had encountered he thought that Bob Iapetus was the most mortal-like death angel he had seen. He seemed too cheery and friendly for Nico's taste but it was kind of one of the reasons why he liked Bob. But then, Bob's attitude was what got him into several punishments because he was too _soft-hearted_ to take souls, therefore not being able to reach his own quota. If there's one death angel who knows the ways of mortals very well, it was Bob. So sometimes, very rare times, he's the one Nico asked about mortal living.

"My dear friend Nico, how have you been?" Bob grinned.

"I am guessing you're into punishment again?" Nico raised an eyebrow at him.

Bob sighed. "Oh yeah, you know the usual reason. I'm now under probation and they might take away my death angel's license. I guess I was never meant for death angel job."

"No, you are. You just have to behave." Nico said firmly.

Bob gave him a smile. Nico always wonder how Bob could manage a smile.

"Anyway, what's the punishment this time?" Nico asked curiously

"Clean the whole palace alone." Bob waved his hand casually.

Nico nodded. "That seemed lighter than the last."

Bob agreed. "Yes and I kind of like the cleaning thing."

"But being a death angel suits you more." Nico said.

"You think so, my friend?" Bob smiled again.

Nico just nodded and Bob resumed sweeping the floor while humming. Nico stared at the fellow death angel.

"Bob," He called hesitantly.

Bob glanced at Nico. "Hmm?"

"Can.. can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, my friend, ask away!"

"There's this thing… I want to figure out.." Nico was fumbling for words. "There is…" Suddenly something on Nico's chest vibrated.

Nico sighed. He did not know if it was a sigh of relief or frustration. He fished that vibrating something in the inside chest pocket of the black suit he was wearing. It was a golden pocket watch with a long gold chain attached to it. He flicked open the lid of the watch. The center of the watch where the hands of the clock met were made of ruby stone and that stone was glowing angry red.

Nico closed the lid and looked at Bob and the vibrating stopped. "Sorry Bob, time's up and I've got a soul to pick."

Bob nodded. "It's all right. You can always ask the question next time."

 _If I got a courage to ask again._ Nico thought

Nico just nodded back at Bob and he dissolved in the thin air.

He appeared in a room. It was big and dark. On the canopy bed a figure was lying. The bed was being illuminated by a moonlight coming through the window, so Nico could see that the figure was a very old man. Suddenly, a shimmering form materialized next to the bed, it was the soul of the old man. The old man looked back and forth between his shimmering form and his physical form.

"You are dead." Nico stated to him.

The soul looked up at him and nodded. "I've been waiting for this to come anyway. Who are you?"

"I am the one who will escort you to the entrance of Underworld." Nico answered. "Let's go, I don't have time for chit-chat." He snapped his fingers and both of them appeared on an abandoned alleyway with scraps and garbage littered the area.

"Where are we going?" The soul asked.

"I told you in the Underworld." Nico said looking ahead. They started to walk.

"Underworld," The soul echoed. "Am I going to hell?"

Most of the people have the misconception of Underworld being incorporated with hell, and Nico lost count of times of explaining these kinds of things to the souls. It was part of his job after all.

"I am not the one who will judge if you are going to the fields of punishment." Nico explained. "And the underworld I am talking about is the afterlife you souls are going to."

They turned in a corner and stopped in front of an abandoned recording studio, the DOA Recording Studio.

"Follow me." Nico said and walked straight through the old metal doors. The soul followed quietly.

Inside the studio, it was a chaos of shimmering form. At the far end was a reception counter and there was already a long queue of souls waiting to be assisted by one of the three death angels sitting in the reception. In the corner there were souls wailing who could not accept death yet, some souls tried to run out of the studio. That's why they became restless ghost who chose to roam in the living rather than go in the Underworld. Some of these souls were being chased by other death angels. That's the job of death angels make sure that every souls in this world will reach the underworld or else the souls will just cause havoc in the living.

"Fall in line." Nico ordered and the soul obediently stand at the end of the line.

A mini black note book and black fountain pen appeared on Nico's hand. He opened the notebook and wrote something to it then he ripped the gold paper out of the notebook.

He gave the golden paper to the soul who bewilderedly accepted it. Nico spoke."That's your ticket, so the death angels on the counter will assist you. Just wait here until it's your turn."

The soul continued to stare at his ticket.

Nico felt another vibration on his chest. He fished out the pocket watch and opened the lid and then closed it to stop the vibration. It meant another soul to pick. Without further ado, he vanished in black smoke.

Nico appeared this time in the familiar white walls of a room. There were a few people in the room and one of them was Will Solace in his white lab coat. He was standing at the side of the bed where a young boy was lying, eyes closed.

Will was looking at his wrist watch. "Time of death, 01:23 am."

This caused the other people in the room to cry harder. Will looked at Nico, the blond just nodded at him.

After escorting the young boy towards the queue of souls in the DOA Recording Studio, Nico went back at Jupiter Half-Blood Hospital (JHH). There was still one more soul to pick in that place, but when he looked at his pocket watch it was not yet due for a few minutes.

Nico found himself standing in the emergency room not far from Will. He was sitting on a stool and stitching the big wound on the arm of a gangster-looking dude.

"Come back to me after a week, so I can check the wound, it was a pretty long gash, that's why you have to really take care of it to avoid infection." Will said to the patient when the stitching finished. The patient just grunted in response.

After the patient left, Will stood up from the stool and discarded the latex gloves he was wearing on the nearby trash bin. Meanwhile, Nico was not sure about why he's standing there like an idiot.

"I thought you're going to take the soul of the man I was suturing." Will said and faced Nico. A smile plastered on the blond's face. The curtains were drawn so Will wouldn't be worried about the people who could see him.

"So I was thinking if the guy's going to go under cardiac arrest while I'm stitching him or I was going to make a mistake of murdering him. He caused havoc in here because he was drunk and slapped one of my friend nurses. It took a while to subdue him." Will continued as he sat at the edge of the bed

"I am surprised by your violence, Solace, I thought you aim to heal and help." Nico said.

"It changed when he hurt my friend Lou, but of course, there still part of me who's gonna help him no matter what. That's my job." Will sighed.

Then there's silence. Nico should really leave but the sole of his black leather boots seemed to be glued on the floor.

"Anyway.." Will said again. "Thanks for you know, what you did the other day and I was wondering why you did _it._ "

Nico just frowned in confusion.

"I meant, when you led me to Annabeth, the blonde girl at the stairs… it reminded me the reasons why I'm here.. so why? I am your enemy right..." Will was drawing circles with his index finger on the white sheet of the bed. Then he looked at Nico through his eyelashes shyly.

Nico cleared his throat and looked away. "I want my enemy to be in shape. It's seemed so unfair that I am battling a crippled enemy."

Will smiled at that. "You know, do I need to be creep out that it felt like you know me better than I know myself?"

This time Nico stared at him. "You're wrong, Solace. There are still a lot of things I haven't figured out about you."

Will blinked.

Thankfully, Nico was saved by the vibration of his pocket watch.

"I have to go." Then he vanished before Will could blink again.

When Nico materialized in a long hallway of JHH, he let out a breath he was holding. He did not even realize that he was holding his breath until he let that out.

Nico shook his head walking towards his destination while wondering if he needed to pay a visit to a doctor for a check up on his dead lungs, and definitely, the doctor would not be Will!


	5. IV - NICO

**IV**

 **NICO**

" _You're a death angel."_

" _You are glowing."_

 _Nico and Will stared at each other. Nico was taken aback by the glowing light that the blond radiated. It was Nico's first time appearing at Jupiter Half-Blood Hospital after being assigned in New York. Nico noted that Will was wearing a green surgeon's scrub and white lab coat and he thought that the blond looked too young to be a doctor._

" _You are a doctor." Nico added_

" _Yep. I was having my first year residency here. Anyway, this was the first time I have seen you here. I pretty much know most of the death angels roaming around the hospital but you're new to my eyes." Will stated_

 _Nico knew some gifted people who can see their kind roaming in this world so he was not surprised by that. However, it was his first time seeing a mortal glowing literally._

" _Why are you glowing?" Nico asked._

 _Will shrugged. "You can call this a special ability but I discovered that your kind hated it when I glowed. Because when I glowed I can save a person literally from the dead and that means no soul for you."_

 _For the first time in Nico's death angel career, he was stunned. He had seen a lot of things in this world and some were way beyond mortal's comprehension, so he thought that nothing could ever surprise him by now. But this blond doctor in front of him proved him otherwise._

" _I-It's impossible. You can't cheat death." Nico stuttered._

" _That may be true, but there were times that I was able to sneak up behind death. I can feel who can respond to my power and be saved no matter how slim the chances were. You can see it for yourself later." Will said_

 _Nico continued to stare at the blond who was still glowing. The blond was smiling back at him. It was a sight to behold, like he was looking at something magnificent that did not belong on the plain and boring existence of the world._

 _Will sighed. "I know you are going to hate me too sooner or later but my name is William Solace but I go with Will and you are?"_

" _Nico. Nico di Angelo" Nico said dazedly._

 _Will nodded smiling and Nico couldn't decide which was brighter, the blond's glow or his smile. The doctor spoke. "Nice meeting you, Nico. Don't hate me too much okay? I was just doing my job."_

 _For one beautiful moment, Nico thought how he could hate this guy when he seemed so nice. But of course, the world flipped and Nico received his first punishment for not reaching his own quota because of Will's glowing._

 _The punishment was too painful and hard to forget. He still winced from the mere thought of the punishment, as if the pain was still living in him. The first punishment was always designed to be brutal so they will be reminded that they wouldn't dare make another mistake. Only Bob Iapetus seemed to tolerate those punishments. The evidence was his scarred and almost mutilated body. Thankfully, it was Nico's first and last punishment. Nico swore that William Solace was an enemy who always messed with his job. He decided that Will was trouble and dangerous._

 _The other day, when Will grinned at him, all those angry and unpleasant thoughts about the blond got thrown out of the window in an instant. It was like a switch on and off of thoughts when it came to Will Solace. There were times that Nico hated the Hades out of him and there were times that he was just not… Years later, those high and low frequencies about Will started to annoy him, then he started to ignore it, and he just focused that Will was going to be a forever enemy no matter what. The trick worked for him for a long time, even though Nico realized and learned that Will was a big head-scratching distraction in a form of a human._

Nico gasped and his eyes snapped open. Then he found himself plummeting. He remembered falling asleep while lying on a ledge of the rooftop of a building. He remembered dreaming about a certain blond. He also remembered that he was waiting for his next soul when he fell asleep and now he was falling from the rooftop.

Inches before he hit the ground, he vanished in a cloud of black smoke. He reappeared in the rooftop just in time his pocket watch vibrated, so he dissolved in the thin air once again. Nico found himself standing in front of an old apartment building in the middle of a busy street of Manhattan in broad daylight. Nico thought that the place seemed near to JHH, a couple of blocks or so. He knew that his next soul will be inside of that building, in the rooftop. So he went inside and climbed the stairs.

From time to time, Nico liked using his own limbs and not relying solely on his power. He liked to experience some of the mortal's every day routine because it somehow amused him. Either walking down a stairs of any place, or riding the subway towards his destination or simply entering a revolving door. It also entertained him when he kept walking circles on a said revolving door, annoying those mortals who couldn't get in or out. There's a revolving door in JHH and he was toying with it once in a while.

He reached the rooftop as his thoughts flew on revolving doors. He found a girl, a teen age girl standing dangerously near the edge of the rooftop. There was a very low cemented barrier on it. But Nico thought that it was useless since you just have to step on that barrier and you were already free-falling on the ground. Nico leaned on a steel post and waited for the girl to jump, and then her soul will be the next one he needed to escort towards the Underworld.

The girl continued to stare down way below. She was not moving, just standing there. Nico was growing impatient, he had other souls to pick and this girl was not helping on keeping Nico waiting.

Suddenly, the door of the rooftop burst open making the girl jumped in surprise and looked back at the door. Nico just turned and- why it didn't surprise him anymore to find Will Solace on places he least expected the blond to be at. Will seemed to be freshly out of shower because his hair was damped. There's a white towel around his neck and he's wearing an orange t-shirt and cargo pants.

"Oh great," Nico said sarcastically to Will. "Of course, you are going to stop her from jumping, right?"

"My duties to save a life doesn't end in the hospital, death boy." Will said but his eyes never left the girl who was standing frozen, near the edge. She was looking at Will with wide, terrified eyes.

"W-what did you just call-" Nico sputtered then hissed. "Do not call me death boy, you idiot."

Will ignored him and walked towards the girl slowly. The girl seemed to gain her senses back.

"S-stop right there." She raised her trembling hand. "Or else, I will really jump."

But Will did not stop. "Okay then, let's jump together."

The death angel and the girl seemed to be stunned for a moment.

"Solace," Nico gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into tight fist. "What are you doing.."

Will was still ignoring Nico. The blond took advantage of the stunned girl, as he successfully managed to get closer to her. They were now standing side by side at edge.

"I am Will Solace and you are?" Will said and turned his head towards her. He sounded like it was just a casual day, strolling on a park and happened to meet someone.

The girl swallowed looking at Will "S-Silena Beauregard."

"Nice meeting you Silena, and what do we owe this pleasure of jumping off the rooftop?"Will asked.

Silena's expression changed and she seemed pissed. She looked down "Just leave me alone."

"Not a chance, I told you, we are going to jump together." Will hummed

"Why do you care, my parents don't care so why should you, you're just a stranger."

"But the point is, there's still someone who cares even if it's a stranger." Will leaned forward as if to check how high they were. Nico's throat constricted and as if there's a fury clawing on his chest. The death angel cursed under his breath.

"Oooh, high," Will immediately stepped back. Then he faced Silena "Are you sure you want to jump? Because your face is lovely to be smashed on a concrete floor. Besides, I am a doctor, I have seen lots of grotesque corpse and I think it was still better to look good until the end. Don't you want an open coffin at your funeral?"

"Stop!" Silena wailed raising her hands. "I was momentarily confused okay. I don't even know how I got here. I was hurt and I hate my life."

"If it's physical hurt, I can mend it easily but of course, it does not mean that I cannot be in help to you. My service extends to almost everything so why don't you try me?" Will raised an eyebrow at Silena challengingly.

But Silena just snorted. "Can you convince my parents to send me to a drama school rather than to some stupid business university?"

To Silena's surprise, Will laughed. "You reminded me of myself when I was your age." Then he sat on the low cemented barrier.

One wrong move, Will was the one who's going to smash his face on the concrete floor below.

Nico hissed. "Will you at least sit your butt down on the floor instead, Solace. You are one fall away from the Underworld."

Will must have heard him since he changed seat and sat on the ground and Will's back was against the barrier.

Meanwhile, Silena looked down at him bewildered. "Why?"

"My dad did not want me to be a doctor. He wanted me to choose music over medicine." Will answered wistfully.

Silena did not look convince. "You're just saying that because you don't want me to jump."

Will stared up at her " _YOU_ are the one who doesn't want to jump, as you have said, you're just confused. Besides if you don't believe me, ask my father Apollo Charleston."

Silena's eyes widen and she dropped into a crouch next to Will. "No way!"

"Yes way, you want DNA testing?" Will raised an eyebrow at her.

Silena was dumbstruck. "Your father is one of the greatest musicians in this world. I adored his classical music a lot! And yes.. I kind of see the resemblance to the both of you..."

Nico already knew who Will's father was but he never met the musician much less see Will meet his father. He wondered if they were still getting in touch.

"Now we have the physical evidence. As I was saying, I like to marry medicine but my father who was supporting my education that time didn't want me to get pre-med and I couldn't just rely on my mom since she was also having issues financially. So I didn't have a choice but to find my own way of going into a med school and proving him that I can be great doctor instead of a musician."

Silena just stared at him "W-what did you do?"

"Med schools are expensive so I have to work my butt off on different part time jobs and scavenge every scholarship grants I could apply. With some luck, I got in a med school and here I am now, a licensed doctor. You know, hard work can moved mountains, just prove your parents wrong by working hard on the passion you have chosen." Will smiled at her.

Silena blinked. "Isn't it faith that can move mountains?"

"Nah, hard work's better for me, what's the use of faith without action. I can sit all day having faith that I am going to be a millionaire someday and what will it get me? My eyes are going white and still there won't be a drop of dollar in my lap."

Silena giggled.

"So what I am saying, Silena just because you are having a hard time doesn't mean you will choose an easy route away from the hard times. Life is full of hard times and an easy way out is not always an answer."

"All my life, I have obeyed my parents. I let them control my life on how they wanted it to be. They never asked once what I really wanted so it really sucked when they wouldn't let me have the only thing I wanted in life." Silena looked down at the floor hugging her knees.

"Then this time, you just have to take over your own life because you are the original captain of it."

Just like that, Nico's soul was out of his hands… again... He's going to have a headache.

Nico was glaring daggers at Will's back as they all climbed down the stairs. While the blond, on the other hand, was chatting merrily with Silena. Will invited Silena to his apartment downstairs to have lunch and Nico was just… following. But the hell he cares on gate crashing Will's apartment when he snatched the death angel's soul again.

Will's apartment was small but it was neat and clean. It was a simple studio type with one bed room.

"My apartment is small but welcome abode." Will said and he went to the kitchen.

Nico looked curiously around while Silena followed Will. The two chatted in the kitchen. It was Nico's first time going in Will's apartment. He originally thought that blond was still living in Brooklyn with his mother. Guess, he moved here in Manhattan to be closer to his job. Nico was in the small living room and he was looking curiously on the small photographs hanging on the wall. Will was either smiling or grinning with his friends in all pictures. Then his eyes landed on the closed door which obviously led to Will's room.

Nico glanced at Will whose back was turned to him. He was still busy talking to Silena. Maybe a little peek on Will's bedroom wouldn't hurt and hey, Nico was still pissed so he's going to do gate crashing at its best.

He passed through the closed door and stood in a brightly lit bedroom. It was small too and narrow. The sun was streaming down the curtained glass window situated above the bed. The sound of honking cars from the street below could be heard loudly in the room and he briefly wondered how Will could sleep in this noisy place. The bed was on the left side wall with light blue bed sheet on it. On the right side wall were a light brown closet and next to the closet was a light caramel colored desk with several medical books neatly arranged on it. The desk and closet were both facing the bed. In the middle was a thin walkway. The walls were light yellow and the floor was white vinyl tiles. Everything around was _light_ for Nico's taste. But of course, nothing was dull with Will.

He walked towards the bed side table where a picture frame was standing. It was Will and his mother, Naomi Solace. They were both smiling in the picture. There's nothing alike between Naomi and Will since all Will's features must be inherited from his father. Nico had seen Naomi once, when he tried to go at Will's house to investigate a little, and that was a long long time ago.

Nico lay down on Will's bed. He was at the edge so his one leg was bent and his foot touching the floor while the other leg was on the bed and his other foot was slightly dangling at the edge, so the bed sheet wouldn't get dirty with the sole of his boots. He put his arm under his head. His next soul wasn't due in three hours so there's nothing much to do.

He lost count of time as he stared at the ceiling when the door opened.

"Oh my gods!" Will exclaimed in shock leaning back on the door with his hand still on the door knob "I thought you already left!"

Nico barely moved, his eyes still glued on the ceiling. "I was assuming that your visitor already left since you're loud and that visitor happened to have the soul that I was supposed to take, and of course you meddled again."

Will sighed. "Yeah, Silena left a little while and we all know that I couldn't just stand there while she's plummeting on her death."

"How did you even know that she was there and thinking suicidal?" This time Nico sat up and glared accusingly at him.

"I saw you climbing the stairs of the rooftop when I opened the door briefly to let out a stray cat. I already knew that you were not there for the view of the chaotic streets of Manhattan. So I got dressed and went up there." Will explained.

Nico said nothing. Instead, he plopped down on the bed and closed his eyes. What else could he say or do? No matter how pissed he was, he couldn't just strangle Will Solace.

"I am sorry." Will continued earnestly. "I know you're pissed and all but I am letting you lie on my bed just to make it up for the soul I snatched again because normally, I don't let someone easily lie on my bed much less letting someone _in_ on my room without my permission because I am a very private person. By the way, I also really appreciate that you're not putting your shoes on my sheet."

Nico inwardly sighed, eyes still closed. _What am I going to do to you Solace?_

"You asleep? Okay, you can also sleep on my bed just to make it up for pissing again the hell out of you."

This time, Nico couldn't help but to open his eyes and sit upright again. He complained. "How can I sleep when it's too noisy down there? Seriously, how can you sleep here?"

Will just grinned. "Hey when you're sleep deprived, you will just sleep through the noise. And I am used to it. This was the only available apartment near the hospital. It was just a walking distance or running distance to the hospital when I'm late which is always.."

"Whatever, I'm still pissed." Nico muttered.

"Since you're already here, why don't you eat lasagna, I'm known best for my lasagna, and there's also a pepperoni pizza which I can reheat…"

Nico sold out.


	6. v - WILL

**V**

 **WILL**

Having a death angel as your visitor in your apartment was nice. Will had decided.

Even though Nico ate like a glutton, it was still nice.

So death angels did eat normal food.

They also sleep.

Will remembered how Nico glared at him when he voiced out his amusement about the death angel's sleeping and eating.

' _Solace, I hope you are not mistaking us for vampires. We are immortals at some point but our bodies also need nutrients and sleep.'_

Will couldn't help but grinned at his thoughts. He felt a combination of surprise and amusement when the wind blew a different way and Nico had suddenly decided to crash at his apartment like he was an old friend. He always had this fleeting thought that Nico was always out of reach, well for the obvious reason that the death angel hated the Hades out of him. Will barely knew the guy and then suddenly yesterday, he learned and realized that regardless of Nico's status as a death angel, he could be so… human.

Now, Will was curious, there seemed to be a lot of things needed to be discovered about Nico. It wasn't like Will hadn't been paying attention to the guy before. In fact out of all death angels that Will encountered before, Nico was the only one who was interacting with him most of the time. So it felt like Nico was not a total stranger to him. Still, he only knew a little almost to none about the death angel. And Will had this urge to know more about the guy.

"And why are we smiling like an idiot, Dr. Solace." Kayla put down her can of soda on the table where Will was currently lounging. She sat across Will. They were both in the cafeteria of the hospital in the middle of the night.

"There are a lot of things we need to smile about, Dr. Knowles. It was summer, we heal people, and it was a nice night." Will waved his hand dramatically. No one knew the existence of Nico di Angelo, except for him. As if he could go telling people ' _hey, a death angel visited me, how nice'_ or _'a bunch of death angels wanted to shred me to ribbons. Scary'_ Heck, no one even knew that he can see death angels and he had this glowing trick.

"You cannot fool me William, you have the same idiotic smile when your ex-boyfriend Dr. Lee Fletcher asked you out, or when you are crushing with our neurologist, Dr. Tim Alistair. I know your anatomy from inside out." Kayla stated and started to sip on her soda.

Will stared at her, and then blinked. It wasn't like he wasn't open about his homosexuality; in fact, the whole JHH already knew his sexual reference, since he dated one of his male colleagues. He was proud of whom he is. Though, there's this one tiny detail from Kayla's statement that made Will looked like he had swallowed a billiard ball and then his stomach suddenly felt heavy.

"I.. Do I really look like I am crushing on someone?" Will said, his mouth forming an _o._

Kayla nodded giving him a side glance. She continued to sip on her soda. "Yeah, so who's the lucky guy? Does he work here?"

Will was suddenly gawking "B-but that's impossible!" Him? HAVING A CRUSH ON NICO DI ANGELO?! Will mentally listed the impossibilities of being attracted to Nico. First of all, they're ENEMIES, whose lives were complete opposite that led to the second reason that Nico was a death angel who was like existing on a different side of a universe. Third, he was always grumpy and angry that led again to the fourth reason that Nico HATED the hell out of him and that would go back to the first reason. See, their beginnings and endings always ended up with ENEMY AND HATRED. There was just no way that…

But then, there was this tiny part of his brain cells that told him the reason why he felt so drawn to the death angel and the reason why Will wanted to know more about Nico. And Will was lying to himself if he wouldn't admit that despite Nico's grumpiness and cold-heartedness, he, in his own way, looked cool, awesome, handsome and –okay point taken.

"What's wrong with you?" Kayla leaned forward and looked closely at Will who remained frozen in his seat and whose eyes were wide as a dinner plate. Then Kayla's eyes widen also. "Oh my gods! William Solace, don't tell me you've turned straight! You started to like a girl?!"

"Who likes a girl?" Lou Ellen joined and sat with them together with her boyfriend Cecil Markowitz, who was a medical technologist at JHH.

"HIM!" Kayla pointed at Will

Lou and Cecil gaped at Will.

This made Will snapped out of his senses. He shouted. "I do not!"

"Then why you looked like a fish and why were you saying it's impossible?!" Kayla countered.

Will groaned. Then he leaned his elbows on the table and put his hand on his face. "It was just so impossible! How can I like _him_ ..." He threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"And who is him?" Cecil asked.

"Hah! I knew it!" Kayla laughed triumphantly. "You are too easy to read!"

That made Will paused again. "Am I really easy to read?"

"Yeah, like an open book." Lou nodded. "Like, it only took seconds to know that you are crushing on someone, one look at your sappy face and _bam!_ " She clapped her hands together once for better emphasis.

"Exactly what happened earlier," Kayla smirked.

"And that will lead back to the question of who is him!" Cecil said

But Will seemed not to hear Cecil when his mind drifted to something in particular.

' _You're wrong, Solace. There are still a lot of things I can't figure out about you.'_

Will remembered how Nico looked at him in that moment, as if there was blaze in his eyes that Will swore he almost melted on the spot. Now, he already understood why he _felt_ that way.

And when…

' _Will you at least sit your butt down on the floor instead, Solace. You are one fall away from the underworld'_

He also now understood why he felt funny when Nico seemed to care that he's one fall away in the underworld. Not that he's really giving more meaning to it… It's just that, wasn't it more convenient to the death angel that there will be two souls to be escorted in the underworld just in case...

But in the end, the point is... After all this time...

Will slumped forward to the table and muttered "I am so screwed…"

Will was sure that being attracted to an enemy much less to a death angel was trouble.

"Are you going to tell us now, who on earth is he?" Cecil asked again.

"Not a chance." Will suddenly stood up. He added mentally. _Besides, it's not like you can see him, when I was the only one who can._

There were a chorus of complaints from his friends.

Will just waved his hand dismissively. "I am going to do rounds on my patients. Bye." Then he turned and walked away.

"We will know who is _him_ no matter what, Doc!" Lou shouted.

Will just shook his head as he walked out the cafeteria. _Impossible._

Will wasn't making an excuse when he said that he's going to do rounds just to get away from the grilling questions of his friends. He was really doing rounds and one of the patients he visited that night was Percy Jackson who was now looking livelier after weeks of being hospitalized.

"You are doing great now, Mr. Jackson." Will put his stethoscope back around his neck after using it on Percy. "You're breathing was now was stable. We can discharge you in a matter of days. We will just wait for your other lab test just to make sure that everything is fine."

"That's great!" Percy grinned. His wife, Annabeth, who was standing next to his husband smiled.

"Now that I am okay, can I now visit my pal, Jason Grace, you medic guys wouldn't let me no matter how I said that I was fine!" Percy said.

Will just smiled. "Not at the moment, Mr. Jackson. Remember you still have bullet wounds and we wouldn't want to strain and reopen those wounds. Don't move so much for the time being. Four bullet wounds are serious."

"That's what I was talking about." Annabeth said looking pointedly at Percy.

Percy pouted.

"But Jason Grace is fine now, right?" Annabeth asked and looked up at Will. "He was really a close friend to us and his girlfriend Piper was worried sick about him. She just couldn't flew over from Las Vegas because of some commitments."

Will briefly thought about how Kayla would react when she learned that her _blondie_ and _cute_ patient was already taken.

"I really couldn't say anything since he was not my patient but from what I have heard, Mr. Grace is doing better too, still weak but stable." Will answered.

The couple nodded in acknowledgement.

"Okay, that's all for tonight, take rest." Will said and Annabeth walked him out the room.

"Ah, that reminds me," Will turned to Annabeth when he was already outside the room and Annabeth was at the door "What's his reaction when you told him that-" Suddenly Annabeth covered his mouth and her eyes widen. She also went outside and immediately closed the door behind.

"I haven't told him yet." Annabeth said pulling her hand from Will's mouth.

"Why not?" Will was surprised.

Annabeth sighed. "Knowing my husband, he'll over-react, in a good way of course. He might probably faint or jumped like a kangaroo or run around the hospital in delight. We don't want to strain his wounds right?"

Will laughed. "Right. So when are you planning on telling him?"

Annabeth smiled. "Probably right after his discharge. That will be also his early birthday gift since he's celebrating it in a month."

"How about your morning sickness, didn't he notice?" Will inquired.

"He's asleep most of the mornings, so he didn't really notice. He can be dumb at times." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

The doctor shook his head in amusement. "All right. Congratulations again to the both of you."

"Thank you doc." Annabeth continued to smile.

Will patted her shoulder and walked away.

He turned to a corner and in a flash he recognized someone walking towards the other direction not from afar. He immediately stepped backward and leaned on the wall to hide. He slowly peeked from his hiding spot. Surely, Nico di Angelo was walking from a distance then he was out of sight.

Will sighed and started hitting his head when he realized how stupid he reacted. Why in Hades was he hiding now from death boy, as if he committed some heinous crime? After realizing that he liked the guy, he can't just run away from his feelings or to him.

"I'm going to be really glad if you're hitting yourself because you'd turned into some kind of lunatic and you will be carted off to a mental institution."

Will stopped hitting himself and turned to see Bianca di Angelo who was crossing her arms and looking weirdly at him.

Will put down his hand. "Sorry to disappoint you, still sane to annoy the hell out of you."

In all honesty, Will was annoyed too, he still remembered the insult that the death angel fired at him. He never saw her again ever since that time until now.

"And that brings me to something I badly wanted to tell you from the time you insulted me." Will said and fully faced her.

"Let me tell you this, Bianca. I don't care if I became a doctor because of my special power or mere wits. But all I know is I became I doctor because of my dedication to save a life. I do trust what I can do and I am intending to use it for the greater good no matter how much I pissed the hell out of you. No amount of insults will pull me down." Will said and started to walk past the unfazed death angel.

They were shoulder to shoulder when Bianca spoke. "At least, leave my brother alone."

Will stiffened but immediately composed himself. He did not speak.

"My brother was giving you an unhealthy amount of attention. You two are different, always remember that. He does not belong here in your world." Bianca said.

"You do not control my life Bianca, and it's not your business whoever I interact with." Will said, looking ahead.

"It became my business because he's my brother." Bianca hissed, slightly turning to him.

"Then it's not my problem anymore, it's his." With that, Will walked away.

 _Actually, it's kind of my problem too since I am also having an unhealthy attraction towards your brother._ Will thought


	7. VI - WILL

**VI**

 **WILL**

Will needed sleep.

He was imagining his own bed as he trudged up his way home from his shift in the hospital. It was already eight in the morning and Will needed his goodnight sleep.

He was walking along 3rd Avenue and passed several stores and commercial buildings when he stopped dead in his track in front of a glass window of Mcdonald's.

Suddenly, his heart suddenly started to pump harder and blood pulsated through his veins as if he was rebooted back to life. It all happened as he stared through the window of Mcdonald's and saw Nico di Angelo sitting inside near the window and near enough to notice a blonde staring at him

Nico was alone with his fries and burger and large size glass of coke. Nico hadn't yet notice the blonde since the death angel was so busy making a tower out of his fries like a Jenga Blocks Mcdonald's Fries Edition.

Bu then, Will refused to believe what he was seeing. It wasn't making any sense to him. How is it possible that a death angel was in a fast food restaurant and toying with a fries? How did he even get those foods? Did he order it? If that was so, could people see him now? Nico was wearing a black Ramones t-shirt and black jeans with his usual black leather boots. His attire wasn't the usual black suit or aviator jacket making him looked like more of a random guy. Will stared hard and even rubbed his eyes just to make sure that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.

Then Nico looked up just in time to see Will frozen in his spot. His eyes widen a little bit in recognition but immediately frowned at the blonde. That was Will's cue that he was _really_ Nico di Angelo and the blonde went inside.

"What are you doing here?" Will whispered when he sat across the frowning Nico. He did not even know why he was whispering as if they were in some sort of secret conversation.

"Why? Am I not allowed to eat at Mcdonald's now?" Nico said "And why are you whispering, we are not in a library"

But Will continued to whisper leaning forward a bit "Can people see you now?"

"Yes, Solace" Nico whispered back and he leaned forward too, making their faces closer "How do you think I get this food? Do I look like someone who stole it and eat it right here?"

Will should have been saying something but he was left staring again, this time mesmerized by the death angel's face, especially by his eyes… His breath hitched in his throat.

"S-so I was right.." Will whispered again

"About what?"

"You've got brown eyes"

This made Nico to roll his eyes and sat straighter. Will followed suit.

"I have my theory" Will continued "But every time that I'll try to look at your eyes. They seemed to be darker more of black.. After all this years of theory, Now, I have proven myself right"

"Congratulations on your latest discovery" Nico said sarcastically and clapped his hands. This made Will direct his attention on Nico's pale arms towards his biceps visible after the sleeves of the shirt. He stifled a gasp.

"What happened to that?" Will pointed to Nico's scarred biceps as if the guy was mauled by something so sharp. This was the first time Will had seen those scars since Nico always wear long sleeves.

Nico looked down at his biceps and frowned "Oh.. This.. is nothing"

"Nothing?!" Will looked scandalized "That nothing looked like you've been clawed by a very bad wolf!"

Nico gazed up at him "I was"

"Seriously?" Will was gaping

Nico just nodded mutely sipping on his coke

"What happened?" Will asked in a low voice. The scar looked painful.

"I have been attacked by a wolf. End of a story" Nico said staring admiringly at the tower of fries he'd built.

"I don't understand. Why was there a wolf? Why have you been attacked by a wolf?" Will persisted on the topic.

This made Nico scowled at him "You are not really going to drop the subject aren't you?"

"I was just…." Will wanted to say that he's concerned, he's worried, that he cared but the words seemed unable to be uttered out loud.

"What Solace? It's none of your business!"

"Of course it's not. It always has been" Will muttered

"Fine!" Nico spat "You wanted to know? This was my punishment, my punishment for not reaching my quota because of your _special ability._ Happy?"

Will was frozen in his seat, staring wide eyed at Nico.

Nico groaned "Look. Just forget about it or get over with it. It's all in the past now by the way"

"It's my fault" Will choked.

Now it dawned upon Will why the death angels hate him so much. He learned that the hate has its roots. He initially thought that their anger and annoyance was just simply because of not reaching their quotas but how wrong he was when it was way way more than that.

"A-are there a lot of your kind being punished because of me?" Will asked

Nico did not answer which also answered Will's question.

"Oh my gods. I-I am so sorry.." Will couldn't breath because his lungs suddenly filled with guilt. He covered his face with his hands

"H-hey Will…"

It's all his fault. He should have known that every soul he's been pulling out from the dead has a big price to pay.

"Look. Will…"

How many years he'd been using this glowing trick? And how many death angels had suffered all those years at his hand? It felt like a simple sorry wouldn't even measure up to those years of torture. He thought that he's using his power for the greater good but behind his advocacy of preserving life, someone has to.. suffer. Tears started to sting his eyes.

"Damn it Will!" All of a sudden, Nico was beside Will as he yanked the blonde's hands out of his face "Look at me-" Nico paused looking at the teary-eyed of Will and as he still held Will's wrists "Why… Are you crying?"

This time, Will was the one who pulled out his hands away from Nico's hold. He wiped the side of his eyes as he stared down at his lap "I-I am really sorry. I know my sorry is not-"

"Stop"

"Can't you see that I was trying to apologize-" Will looked up at him

"And you're forgiven"

"What?" Will was startled

"How is it hard to understand that you have been forgiven, Will?! You are really frustrating! I told you it's all in the past now okay? So let's stop talking about it because no matter how much remorse or guilt you've feel, nothing will change" Nico stood up and got back on the other side of the table.

"B-but how about the others? I know they have not yet forgive me-"

"Who cares about that?!" Nico threw his hands in the air

"I care!"

At this point, they were catching the attention of other customers sitting nearby. They both noticed it. Nico gritted his teeth and stood up.

"Get up" Nico commanded

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere we could talk privately" Nico said.

Will stood up and he was very surprised when Nico held his hand as the death angel dragged him out the Mcdonalds.

"Where are we going to talk?" Will asked, trying so hard to ignore the electric current running down on his hand that Nico was holding. This was not the time to feel that way.

"In your apartment" Nico said who was ahead of Will, navigating their way through the sidewalks"it's a little bit of a walk-"

"We'll be there in a few seconds" Nico gripped his hold on Will's hands

"What are you talking…" Will never finished his sentence because the moment they turned in a corner they both dissolved in the shadows of a building.

For a moment, all Will could see is nothing but darkness then he found himself gasping as he collapsed at the sofa of his apartment.

"How did we end up here?" Will looked wide eyed at Nico who was standing next to him

"That's what you called disappearing in black smoke remember?" Nico said

"O-of course" Will said weakly sitting properly on the sofa. Nico sat beside him.

Silence.

Will was fidgeting the hem of his t-shirt while Nico was drumming his fingers on his lap.

"Why didn't you at least tell me about it before?" Will asked quietly

Nico snorted "We don't go telling people that we got punished. How embarrassing is that. Besides, what happened in Underworld stays in the Underworld"

"But at least you should have told me" Will said staring at his lap

Nico faced him "Would it make a difference if I told you about it?"

Will didn't answer. He _couldn't_ answer it.

"See? You and I have separate jobs and we couldn't blame you for that because you are just doing your job which is to save people"

"But still.."

"Stop minding death angel's business and mind your own kind's job instead. It was easier that way. Even if you feel so much guilt, believe me most of the death angels wouldn't care and even if you kneel in front of them for forgiveness they wouldn't bat an eye on you because again, they _don't_ care. You cannot please everyone, so stop overthinking"

This time Will looked up at him "But you forgave me"

Nico raised an eyebrow at him "And?"

"You _do_ care" Will pointed out

Nico stared at him for a moment "Let's just say that I don't want to hold grudge against you. It's fatal and unnecessary and might hinder in our job."

Will stared back "Thank you"

Deep inside, Will felt a little better knowing that Nico forgave him for it. For the moment, all that matters was Nico di Angelo forgave him because what Nico thinks was important for Will. He couldn't afford that Nico would be one of the death angels who would blame him because Will would blame himself too. They have proven a point, somehow. He was really thankful that Nico was there to lift up some burden on him.

"But still, you are an enemy" Nico said

Will smiled a little bit "I know"

Nico sighed and leaned back on the sofa. His feet propped up on the center table "I supposed to be celebrating but of course, you ruined it again"

"Celebrating?" Will frowned

"I got promoted on a higher rank of death angels. I now became a Senior, and that means I do now have a privilege of day-off"

"Hence, the Mcdonald's" Will mouth twitched

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Nico gave him a side glance

"Nothing, di Angelo and congratulations on your promotion" Will said still trying not to smile on the fact that the death angel could have some childishness in him. It was kind of cute.

"Hey, I like Mcdonald's I've been a regular customer since…."

"Since?" Will prompted

"1960's…"

Will's mouth hang open "You do realize that we are now in a 20th first century right? Honestly, how old are you?"

Nico shrugged "I've been a death angel since 1950's but as far as I can remember I've been born in late 1930's as a mortal then I died and Lord Hades plucked me and my sister out of Elysium so we can be death angels"

"Whoa, whoa" Will said "Hold it there, you _became_ mortal just like me before?"

"Yes, Solace. What? You think death angels popped out of nowhere and just start picking souls? All of us were mortals before we became death angels"

Will still processing what he had just learned. And seriously, his head started to swam with all the things he had just discovered.

"But still 1930's or 1950's.. you don't look like an elderly to me.." Will looked up and down at Nico

"Oh please. As I have said, we are immortals and we could look whatever we like" Nico rolled his eyes

"And now, you are on what age… ?"

"I don't know, 27 or 28 or something. I really don't give it a much of a thought"

Will grinned "Not bad. I'm just a few years older"

"And that means?" Nico raised an eyebrow not sure where was this going

"That means we can hang out sometimes and since you have now day-offs and all. How's that?"

"Not a chance, Solace"

"Well, why not" Will pouted "but hey, that being visible with mortals? Is that also a privilege on your new rank?"

"No. All death angels can be visible in the mortal eyes if they wanted to"

"And why haven't I seen you doing that before?"

"I don't have time"

"But now, you have. Will you be able to do that now often?"

"I don't intend to"

"Oh come on! You should!"

Nico scowled "And why should I?"

"I told you! So we can hang out more!"

"I am now going" Nico stood up

"Hey!" Will held his wrist "just stay for a bit. Since I ruined your celebration why don't we celebrate here instead. But I actually don't have much food to prepare since I still hadn't hit off the supermarket, so how about sandwiches?"

Nico yanked his hand away from Will and sat down again "I supposed that would be fine but I don't like peanut butter just so you know, if you're going to put it…"

Will titled his head at him bewilderedly "why not?"

"In our death angel's life we retained some characteristics from our former lives. In my mortal life, as far as I can remember, I have allergies with nuts so I didn't eat it. Although now, allergies wouldn't affect me, I still have my dislikes for nuts"

"Do you remember much of your former life?"

Nico crossed his arms "Not really. And I don't dwell much on my past life. It's not important anymore"

"Okay" Will took a deep breath standing up "Sandwiches minus peanut butter. And honestly, this is healthier than fast food meals!"

Nico just gave him a flat look "Do I look like I care? Death angels can't die of sickness"

"But still, healthy foods will make you fit!" Will ranted as he made his way on the kitchen

"We are all fit"

And of course, Will's need of sleep was already forgotten.


	8. VII - NICO

**VII**

 **NICO**

' _You do care'_

It wasn't the first time that Nico was confused about a certain thing. But what Will said to him the other day was enough to beat all the rest of confusing things that wouldn't get out of his head. It wasn't right. Death angels _don't_ care so how is it possible that he was doing it now?

The moment that he became a death angel, most of his mortal memories and emotions were flushed out the toilet. Death angels were like forged to be steel and strong. They don't feel any remorse, guilt, pain, pity, concern, sympathy and anything synonymous to those kinds of emotions that will make them vulnerable.

But why was he now faltering when the subject of discussion was Will Solace?

He wasn't making excuses when he told Will that he did not want to hold grudges on him because he thought that holding grudges can be one of vulnerabilities that might hinder with his job. But then, to Nico's ears it sounded half-truth. He wasn't satisfied with that answer. So if that's the fifty percent of the whole truth, what in Hades' Realm is the other half of the truth?

Nico badly _needed_ to know.

What was new by the way? When it comes to Will Solace, there's always the phrase of _needed to know._

The death angel was becoming desperate to ask Bob Iapetus about all of these. Even if Nico was not sure why, he was certain that the fellow death angel can help him with whatever he's dealing with. However, as of the moment, Bob was missing in action and he hadn't had a time to pay a long visit to the underworld because of his job and well, because of Will Solace whom he was constantly running into whenever the Fates had a chance to collide them together.

And it wasn't helping that he was having these kinds of thoughts while he was in the middle of a battle with a rogue ghost in the parking lot in the middle of the night.

Stygian Iron sword in the hand of death angel, he and the ghost were circling each other, waiting and testing whose going to bite first.

Nico escorted a murderer's soul towards the Underworld but then when this soul learned that he was dead he ran away wanting revenge to the people who ended his life. The moment a soul ran away from a death angel, the soul was already marked as a ghost. So the chase started and Nico was chasing this frustrating ghost half of the night and it wasn't helping that there will be another soul needs to be escorted in half an hour. Nico was running out of time. If Nico failed to show up to this soul who needs to be escorted in half an hour, the soul will wander and he will become a ghost that will result to another chase and of course that will be another problem.

Nico feigned an attack and the ghost dodged like the death angel predicted. He hit the head of the ghost with the pommel of his sword, the ghost staggered and Nico kicked him in the ribs this time. But the ghost regained balance immediately and dodged the next attack of Nico. He lunged forward trying to claw out the death angel but Nico was quick and went sideways. Nico slashed the ghost at the back. A steam of smoke evaporated on the part where the ghost was hit and he growled. Every hit from a Stygian Iron will weakened the ghost and eventually paralyzed unable to run anywhere.

Nico was going to deliver the final strike.

"Nico?"

The death angel almost lost his balance and whipped around where the voice had come from. Not from afar, Will Solace was standing in his surgeon's scrub looking at him bewilderedly. For a second, Nico was confused why in Hades again Will Solace was there but one look at the towering building on his side, he got his answer.

He ended up in the parking lot of Jupiter Half-blood Hospital.

 _What are the chances?_ Nico thought sarcastically

Nico was brought back to the present when a growl erupted behind him. He turned in time just to see that the ghost was going to attack him again, with no time to spare he just raised his sword to block the attack of the ghost. The ghost staggered back, hissing while his hand was smoking.

"Nico, what are you doing? And what was that your holding?" Will asked

Nico realized that Will couldn't see the ghost.

"Stay back, Solace! Get back inside" Nico shouted eyeing the ghost.

It could be dangerous when there's a mortal present in front of a rogue ghost..

"But…"

Nico gritted his teeth. Of course, stubborn and annoying as ever. And Nico being a stupid he was, looked again at Will who was like coming forward to him.

His eyes widen "Stop right there you idiot!"

The ghost growled again, the seconds Nico wasted looking at Will gave an opportunity to the ghost to attack, but this time not to the death angel.

The ghost was like a hurling wind running towards Will passing a stupefied Nico.

Ghost did not have brains and this ghost was seeking revenge and it was not a good combination.

With milliseconds to spare, Nico vanished in black smoke. He reappeared next to Will and he pulled out the blonde out of the way, just in time the ghost struck.

Nico and Will fell on the ground.

"W-what is-"

"Damn it Solace!" Nico glowered at him "For the love of everything and if you value your life. Stay right here. _Please_ "

Nico stood up before Will could respond, he strode towards the ghost. That's it. Adrenaline was cursing on the death angel's veins and he just lost the nerve.

Nico struck the ghost without mercy because death angels did not have mercy. They were guardians of the Underworld keeping the balance of living and dead. Instead of growling, the ghost was wailing in agony with every hit of the Stygian Iron. Bit by bit, the ghost was fading in white smoke.

That's when some sense hit Nico, he froze. He realized that black smoke was curling around him, like a destructive black energy ready to strike its vengeance.

And it was not good because he almost _obliterate_ the ghost, as in vanished the existence of it. Death angels have no right to obliterate a ghost. It's not up to them to give a punishment.

The ghost was on he's knees. Fortunately, he stopped fading but one wrong strike and he's _gone, a_ s in gone without a chance to be judged.

Nico closed his eyes briefly. He never lost control. So what in Hades, happened to him?

When he opened his eyes, he strode towards the ghost. He held him on the shoulder and both of them vanished.

They both materialized inside the DOA Recording studios. The ghost was still on his knees and some death angels and souls looked at them curiously. The Stygian Iron also disappeared on Nico's hand and replaced by a black notebook. He opened it. He signed the golden paper and tore it.

Nico knelt down and slapped the golden paper on the ghost forehead. He spoke quietly "That's your ticket to the underworld and I do hope you go to the fields of punishment and you experience the worst punishment of all punishments for eternity"

The ghost whimpered in response. Then Nico vanished.

Nico materialized on a long white hallway. For a one panicky moment he thought that he was back on JHH but as he looked around he realized that it was another hospital. He was there to escort another soul.

He leaned on the white-tiled wall. Now the adrenaline's gone, it felt like the earlier battle zapped the energy out of him which was kind of absurd because death angels don't feel so sluggish and tired. Then he shivered at the thought of black energy surrounding him earlier. He felt how powerful that energy was and one wrong tap on it, he wouldn't just obliterate the ghost but cause severe damage on a surrounding area where Will was..

Oh gods Will…

The vibration on his chest pocket, made Nico opened his eyes and stood straighter. Think everything later, there's a soul to escort…

After escorting the soul, Nico was back on the parking lot of JHH. He chose that place because he knew Will wouldn't be there, it's been a while since he vanished and he doubted that the blonde will still be there. . .

He slowed on his walk when he saw the familiar blonde leaning at the back of a car, this time he was now wearing his white lab coat. He was looking down at the ground while his hands were shoved at the pockets of his lab coat. Of course, Nico was wrong, he should have known that this idiotic blonde will wait no matter what.

As if sensing his presence, Will looked at his direction and froze. He immediately stood straighter, looking at him expectantly. Nico just walked towards him.

"Why are you still here?" Nico asked when he was in front of the blonde.

"I was worried" Will said

Nico frowned. _Worried?_

"And I need explanation" Will immediately continued "What in the name of Hades happened earlier"

"A ghost happened" Nico said

"Ghost?" Will frowned

"You can't see ghost but there happened to be one here earlier and I was chasing after it. It was dangerous because that ghost wanted revenge, he almost hurt you" Nico answered

"Oh"

"And that brings me to the topic of why are you here earlier? Why are you always on places you shouldn't be!"

"What can I do?" Will countered "I saw you on the window acting weirdly and as you have said I can't see ghost and I don't have any idea what's happening"

"I told you to get inside! Why didn't you just do it?!"

"Wait a sec, why are you shouting at me?! I told you I didn't have any idea what's going on and that made me panic because I couldn't just leave you there!"

"You have to remember Solace that I am immortal and I can take care of myself, for Hades' sake!"

"But even so, I couldn't just ran away like that!"

Nico just took a deep breath "You know what, why bother, you're stubborn and annoying. What's the point of arguing with you" this time he's the one who leaned at the back of the car

"Anyway, thank you, for earlier. I didn't know mostly what's going on but I think you just save me back there"

Nico waved his hand dismissively.

"But then, there's like a black smoke around you earlier, it's quite scary. What is that?" Will said

Nico stiffened but then spoke "I lost control earlier. I almost obliterate that ghost and it's against the rules"

"Ah" Then Will hesistated "I-I'm sorry, I am always causing trouble, aren't I?"

Nico snorted "Now, you are apologizing"

"At least, I am admitting now that it was kind of my fault too" Will grumbled

"Just don't pop out unexpectedly, you'll be fine" Nico waved his hand again

"Can't help it, you're like a magnet…"

This time Nico looked at him "What?"

"Nothing" Will said hastily rubbing the back of his neck. Nico noticed a square bandaged on the side of Will's hand

"what happened to this?" Nico held Will's wrist pointing at the bandage

Will looked down "Oh, I kind of scrape my hand when we fell earlier but no big deal it was just a scratch"

Nico stared at the bandage, unconsciously he held Will's hand and rubbed the bandage with his thumb. He was frowning. _Mortals are so vulnerable._

Will cleared his throat, reluctantly pulling his hand away "Anyway, are you always like that? Fighting ghost? Where these ghosts are coming from?"

Nico just shook his head and went back on leaning on the car.

So Nico told him, disregarding the rules of what happens in the Underworld, stays in the Underworld. He knew that he was being reckless. Again, what's new? Nico was reckless and Will was trouble.

* * *

 **yay! thank you guys we've now reached a thousand views for TCDL. Cheers to you!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	9. VIII - WILL

**VIII**

 **WILL**

The moment that Will reached the nurse station to start his shift, he already felt that something was wrong. Especially, if some of the doctors and nurses including Kayla and Lou were gathered in a small semicircle. Worse, if in that gathered crowd, Lou and Kayla were in the middle. Worst, all of them were having this stupid eating grin on their faces as they looked back in forth between Will and on the _thing_ that Lou was holding.

And that _thing_ happened to be a mobile phone.

"Do I want to know why are you looking at me like that?" Will said slowly as he cautiously walked towards them like he's afraid to step on a landmine

"Why, dear Willie, what do we look like?" Kayla asked grinning

"Like your faces are gonna rip off when you grin a little bit more" Will said and looked at the phone. He's starting to get suspicious on that phone. That phone seemed harmless but Will did not understand why he's also getting nervous about it.

"It's because, why on earth haven't you told us that _he_ is hot!" Lou suddenly gushed

"Although, _he_ seems anemic to me, yeah, I agreed _he_ is hot. A hot looking bad ass" Kayla said still grinning

"I know right!" Lou said looking up at Kayla since Lou was sitting on a stool "I seriously need to ask Will on where he's finding hot bad ass guys!"

Cecil cleared his throat "You have to be reminded that you already have a boyfriend"

"Hold on!" Will raised his hand "I don't think I am following on who is this _he_ you're talking about! Who is _he_?"

"That's what we would like to ask you, Will. Who is this guy?" Lou held out the phone so Will could see the screen.

Will stared at the picture on the screen with wide eyes. It was a picture of him and Nico holding hands in the sidewalks of 3rd Avenue. He remembered it clearly since that was the day he saw Nico in Mcdonald's. By the look of the picture, that was the time that Nico was dragging Will towards his apartment to talk _privately_.

"And are you both dating already? He was already holding your hand" Kayla said then she shook his head "I am so disappointed Willie, why aren't you telling any of this to me now"

"I am also hurt too, Will" Dr. Lee Fletcher said who was also in the crowd and who was feigning a look of hurt "How can you replace me so easily? I really need to start dating too"

"So he was the guy you like and the one you are talking in the cafeteria last time huh?" Cecil said "Can we really know now he's name?"

Will came to his senses

"What in Hades!" He shouted as he tried to snatch the phone but Lou just leaned away since there was a long counter that was separating Will and the rest of the crowd "Are you a part-time paparazzi now?"

"Hey" Lou stood up so she could back away a little bit more "It just happened that I was across the street that time!"

"So are you dating now?" Kayla asked

"Nico and I aren't dating!"

"Aha! So he's Nico huh?" Kayla snapped her fingers and grinned triumphantly

"Finally" Cecil muttered

Will just groaned "Oh my gods"

"What in Hades Will, are you blushing? You're all red!" Kayla exclaimed

"He's serious about the guy" Lee Fletcher said

"What's his last name? So we can further investigate this Nico on facebook or something" Lou asked

"He doesn't have facebook" Will muttered. _How can a death angel have a facebook? Are they going to have death updates through newsfeed?_ He thought

"Still what's the surname?" Lou insisted "You know, we are not going to let this go, right?"

Will slumped forward the counter, giving up. His arm still outstretched " Nico. Nico di Angelo. Happy?"

"No. Will. We are happy for you. We know that you love this job but we don't want you to be a workaholic asshole and don't have any social life" Kayla said

This made Will to look up at his friend "I am not workaholic"

"You are" Lou decided

"I knew it!" Drew, one of the nurses exclaimed gaining their attention "It's _Solangelo_ "

" _Solangelo_?" Cecil frowned

"You know, Dr. Solace surname and di Angelo equals Solangelo. We already have a ship name!"

"Oh girl! I like that!" Lou exclaimed giving Drew a high five

"All right, I guess _Solcher_ is already out of the list" Lee Fletcher joked

"What's wrong with you people!" Will continued his _slumping_ in the counter.

"But we want to know more about Nico. Where did you first meet?" Lou asked

"There won't be a _more_ " Will muttered wistfully

"Hey guys!" one of the doctors came running towards them "There was a construction site collapse at 5th Avenue and car accidents due to the collapse. Lots of casualties. Be prepared"

This made Will stood straighter. Then the sirens of upcoming ambulance echoed in the emergency.

"all right guys, back to work" Lee Fletcher clapped his hand.

Will and the crew went to the front of emergency. Several ambulances parked at once to unload stretchers with heavy wounded casualties. Will went to the nearest stretcher.

"She's slipping in and out consciousness Doc" The rescuer said to Will and pointing at a bloodied girl with a gash in the head "Possible concussion"

"Miss, can you hear me?" Will tapped the cheek of the girl lightly. There was no response

Will hopped on the stretcher doing a CPR on the girl while the rescuer pushed them towards the emergency.

After doing a several compression on the chest, the girl was awake

"Do a CT scan on this" Will ordered the nurse pointing to the girl when they reached the emergency.

He moved to next patient who was also covered in blood, a mid-twenties guy who was also unconscious.

"How long he was out?" he asked the nurse

"Almost one minute doc" said the nurse

"let's give him a shot again" Will got the paddles of defibrillator "Shot to 200"

"Clear" He pressed the paddles to the chest. The body just jerked up

"Shot to 300" Will ordered again "Clear" Another jerked of the body.

A black smoke appeared next to the nurse. Will looked up just in time to see a death angel appeared who was looking at him stoically. The death angel seemed to be waiting, waiting for the glowing trick.

Will put down the paddles and looked at his wrist watch "Time of death, 7:09 pm"

The death angel frowned slightly but then he dissolved in the thin air.

Will looked around at the emergency briefly. It was a pandemonium, several death angels were appearing and disappearing at once. Doctors and nurses were running around. It was like a whirlwind of black and white in the emergency. Will attended the next casualty.

"What we've got here" Will said surveying another guy whose t-shirt was torn exposing his chest. There was a big bruise on the chest, and the chest looked deformed. Will immediately concluded that the ribs were broken.

"Possible myocardial contusion or hemorrhage in heart. Barely unconscious" the nurse said "fell off the motorcycle"

Will inspected the casualty's eyes with a small flash light. Then he put his stethoscope on to listen to the beat of the heart and the breathing.

"Do the CT scan for the chest" Will ordered pulling down the earpiece of stethoscope from his ear.

The nurse nodded. Suddenly, the casualty coughed up blood and moaned in pain.

"Doc, the blood pressure was dropping" the nurse said staring at the heart monitor

"put him in the operating room, we're going to open his chest. Broken ribs may further damage the heart and lungs" Will commanded again

The stretcher was wheeled out the emergency. Will paused again and as if on cue, he looked at the side. At the far end, Nico di Angelo was standing, staring at him.

Will stared back for a moment then looked away and proceeded to the operating room.

As it turned out, Will couldn't save the patient too in the operating room because there was a severe damage in the heart.

"Close him up. There's nothing we could do" Will's final order before leaving the operating room.

After washing up, Will found himself banging his head lightly on a white pillar in the hallway. He did not even bother to remove his scrub cap and the mask hanging around his neck.

 _Will stop torturing yourself physically and mentally._ He chided himself but of course he didn't stop on hitting his head on the post.

"What in Hades are you doing Solace?"

That made Will stopped. He looked at his side to see Nico standing from not afar.

Will turned to him "err, banging my head on the post?"

Nico strode towards him. Will could feel that something was off because Nico seemed angry. He was proven right when Nico pushed him on the wall, fisting the neckline of the surgeon's scrub he was wearing.

"N-Nico?"

"Why aren't you using your glowing trick anymore?" Nico asked looking at him straight in the eye

Nico's straightforwardness left Will breathless and speechless. Other reasons might include that Nico's face was so close to him that he couldn't think straight or the fact that Nico was angry that surprised him or Will thought that he was still handsome even if the death angel was angry or maybe all of the above choices.

Then Will remembered that Nico was waiting for his answer so he cleared his throat "M-maybe cheating death is long overdue…"

"What happened to your dedication of saving lives?" Nico hissed

"Hey, I am still saving lives but in a slight different way this time"

Nico seemed to hesitate, his eyebrows furrowed together "I-is this because of what I told you last time?"

Will couldn't answer because Nico hit the mark. For the past few days, Will always thought about the punishment of death angels because of him and this made him torn in between. It almost drove him nuts.

Nico let go of Will's scrub. He stepped back and turned around. He took a deep breath as if to calm his nerves. Then he faced Will again who was still rooted on his spot.

"I told you to mind your own business right?" Nico said quietly "All of the things that we are going through the Underworld have nothing to do with you"

"I am afraid…" Will finally said

Nico frowned "Of what?"

"That you're going to be punished again because of me… I don't like it" Will said softly

"It has nothing to do with you" Nico said coldly "I am also at fault because I am not doing my job properly"

"But I am worried about you, you idiot!" Will exploded "Because I do _care_ about you!"

Nico was taken aback "What?"

"What was so hard to understand on the I-do-care –about-you line? I was pretty sure that I said it in English. Do you want me to say it in another language-no scratch that, I can't speak other language but the point is I don't want you to get punished again!"

Nico was still frozen in his place but after a second he seemed to regain his bearings. He continued to step back "I-I don't understand. W-Why would you care about me?"

"Because… Because.." Will swallowed

But before Will could have the guts to finish his sentence. Nico dissolved in a black smoke leaving Will behind.

"Oh great" Will cursed "The almighty William Solace scared him off.."

He yanked his scrub cap from his head and threw it on the floor out of sheer frustration. He scratched wildly his already messy blonde hair. Then he resumed on banging his head on the pillar.

Concussions be damned.


	10. IX - WILL

**IX**

 **WILL**

Will couldn't take it anymore so he's in for some drastic measures.

It's been three freaking weeks since he last saw Nico di Angelo. The last time was when he accidentally blurted out his concern about the death angel. But can you blame him when the death angel can be so infuriating sometimes-no, it's not sometimes because it was _all the time_ so there came a time that he couldn't control what was coming out on his mouth.

Now, the death angel was missing in action and Will hated it. Who would want to experience the feeling of not be able to see the sunshine of your life, the light of your night and the humanoid caffeine that will definitely wake your senses in the midst of graveyard shift. Plus the thought of maybe, Nico was avoiding him now, that thought was more agonizing than ever.

So this was where the said drastic measures were going to enter.

Will was standing at the rooftop of his apartment building in broad daylight. He was staring down at the road below. At first, it was dizzying to look down but when you were a desperate human being nothing seemed so terrifying. He was standing dangerously close to the edge that one flip over the useless barrier he was plummeting down his death. Since the incident with Silena Beauregard, Will talked to the landlady of the apartment to put some grills to cover the rooftop to prevent the _accident_ or _intended_ falling from the rooftop but the landlady seemed to be deaf to his request since there has been no action made about it.

However, for the time being, Will was all right with it because the unsafe rooftop will be part of his _drastic measure._ Then Will stared ahead.

"You idiot Nico di Angelo" Will said in no one particular "I know you can hear me and if you don't show up in my face at this instant you are going to regret it"

Will knew it was a stupid idea, a very stupid one but again, he was desperate. So he stepped on the cemented barrier. His knees wobbled a bit but he managed to steady them. Will closed his eyes.

"You are going to save me right?" Will whispered softly "You always have been…" _I badly needed to see you right now, or else I am going to go nuts…_

Then the wind suddenly blew that startled Will and of course, his foot stepped on an empty space. Before the gravity took over and before Will could fall, someone grabbed hold of the back collar of the long sleeves he was wearing and yanked him away from the edge. He found his butt planted firmly on the ground of the rooftop. Will's eyes were wide and his heart hammering on his chest. That was close, like one centimeter close to the doors of the Underworld.

"You know, I badly wanted to punch you right now"

Will looked up and in front of him, Nico di Angelo was glaring down at him. For a moment, Will was gaping, he couldn't believe that his stupid idea actually worked.

"What in Hades are you thinking Solace?" Nico glowered at him

Suddenly, Will threw his head back in laughter that surprised Nico.

"Oh my gods" Will said in between his laughter "I knew it! You couldn't resist me!"

"Shut up. Do you think death is something you wanted to mess with?!" Nico shouted all of a sudden

That made Will stopped abruptly in laughing, he was taken aback by the tone of Nico's voice. Okay, maybe Will took it far and someone was not very happy about it.

"I'm sorry" Will immediately said "It's just that.. I don't know how to contact you or something, it's not like you have a phone that I can call…"

"So naturally, you resolved it by jumping off the rooftop" Nico said

"I was desperate" Will mumbled looking down "I know you are avoiding me.."

"I was busy" Nico answered who apparently heard him

"Too much busy that I couldn't see a glimpse of you in the hospital for three weeks?!" This time Will glared at him accusingly

Nico stared at him for a moment then spoke "Why are you doing this Solace?"

"I think you already know the answer to that" Will said simply

Nico looked away "Stop caring about me"

"Too late for that" Will stood up, dusting off his cargo shorts "Besides, you are my friend, that's why I care" _Yes, William, rectify and save the situation by making the popular excuse of all time, friendship. But technically, I wanted him to be my friend and maybe a little bit more-gods, stop it._

"Who wants a death angel to be a friend, we don't make friends" Nico said still looking away

"I am. I wanted you to be my friend, and whether you like it or not, you are my friend, end of discussion" Will said cheerfully

Nico sighed "You are making a big mistake on this friendship. Of all people you wanted to befriend, it has to be a death angel"

 _And of all people who I am going to fall-whoa, wait fall? Since when the stage of my attraction to this stupid angel increased dramatically? You are really flirting with death, aren't you?_

"No, I am not making a mistake about this" Will said firmly and he moved closer to Nico and held both of his shoulder. Nico looked up at him and Will hesitantly spoke "But.. You wanted to be my friend, right?" _Gods damn it, Nico say yes please, or you are going to kill me_

For a moment, all of the coldness in Nico's face was gone, it was replaced by wide eyes as if lost in the depths of the pale blue eyes of the blonde doctor.

"I.." Nico hesitated "Okay, I-I supposed that's all right.."

"Yes!" Will cheered and suddenly hugged Nico

Nico froze

So was Will.

Will realized at that moment that there were a lot of things that he cannot control when he's around the death angel. First, were his mouth and now his arms. He briefly wondered what's next.

Will cleared his throat and pulled away. He patted the death angel's shoulder awkwardly "Now that the friendship was officially established. I am inviting my dear friend in my apartment. Do you want to eat?"

"Why it felt like you're always bribing me with food?" Nico mumbled

"It's because my dear friend, eating is happiness" Will laughed and this time, he put his arms around Nico's shoulder stirring him towards his apartment. Nico just followed almost stiffly.

"But promised me you won't avoid me again okay?" Will said

"I am not avoiding you. I was just busy"

"And if you do it again, I won't hesitate to pull another stunt at this rooftop"

Nico glared at him "You won't do that"

"Yes I will" Will smiled at him and together they descended the stairs

"You are really frustrating!"

"I know" Will said in a sing-song voice "And that's my charm"

When they reached the apartment, Nico sat at the stool in the bar counter of the kitchen while Will made his way to his bedroom. He took off the long sleeves he was wearing so the white shirt underneath remained. He was going to put it back to the closet when his phone vibrated on the bed side table.

Will took the phone and saw that his mom, Naomi Solace, was calling. He immediately answered it.

"Hey mom? Is everything all right?" Will asked

Her mom just laughed over the line "Goodness William your doctor side was acting up. I am all right. I was just missing my son, was that bad?"

Will smiled "I missed you too mom, by the way I am coming over this weekend okay?"

"Really?" Naomi's voice lifted a notch "Good because I was already thinking of dragging you back here myself"

Will laughed "Sorry, you know how a doctor's job can be so busy"

"I understand. But be sure to bring your boyfriend here too huh?"

Will was open to his sexuality even to his mom who supported him wholeheartedly but that's not what made Will stiffened "Boyfriend?"

"Yes hon. Lou sent me a picture of both of you the other day. I want to know him. His name was Nico right?"

At this point of time, Will was thinking of different ways to murder Lou in a most painful way possible.

Will took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice "Mom, he's not a boyfriend"

"Oh but Lou said-"

"Hey, Will?"

Will looked up to see Nico standing at the door. Nico seemed oblivious to the fact that Will was speaking to someone on the phone because his eyes widen a bit and he mouthed sorry. Nico backed away from the room.

"Now, I was sure that I heard a male's voice and I have a feeling that he's the Nico we are talking about. Am I right?"

Will took a deep breath biting his lip "Yes mom"

"And since it was afternoon I am also assuming that you're back at your apartment… or was it his apartment?

"Oh gods, Mom I am in my own apartment okay?" Will felt like he was being grilled in the charcoals like a barbecue

"So you are in your apartment with Nico" Naomi said slowly "And it happened that the picture Lou sent me was the one you were both holding hands. Are you sure that there's nothing going on?"

"Mom" Will sighed "It's complicated"

"I hate it when you're saying that word. Anyway see you this weekend okay and I really hope you can bring Nico too"

"Yes mom see you and I don't know about the last part…"

"All right. Take care son" Naomi said then she hang up

After Will put his sleeves back on the closet he went out the room and saw Nico standing in the living room. Nico looked at him.

"I am sorry. I did not realize that you were talking to someone over the phone" Nico said

"It's fine" Will smiled "My mom just called…" Now, Will wasn't certain on how to invite a death angel over his mom's house

Nico nodded "Anyway, I have to go. You know.. job"

"Oh" Will was kind of disappointed that Nico was leaving suddenly

"I can come back after" Nico said immediately

Will face brightened "Really, okay. I'll wait"

Nico nodded again and dissolved in a black smoke.

Yep. It's complicated when your friend was just disappearing in black smoke and you are falling for a death angel.

* * *

"Why on earth did you send _that_ picture to my mother!" Will exclaimed pointing the canned black coffee he was holding to Lou. They were both standing in front of a vending machine of JHH.

Lou flinched "I was actually hoping that Naomi knows him so I ask her about him. Sorry"

"But why did she mistook Nico for being my boyfriend?"

Lou flinched again "Guilty. Kind of told her that you were both dating but hey! I actually thought you were since you're holding hands and all.."

"I was tempted to inject formaldehyde to your veins while you are asleep" Will said

"Now that's pretty harsh to say to a friend" Lou said

"Because of that, Mom wants to meet Nico!"

Lou frowned "What's wrong with that? Just invite Nico"

Will sighed "It's complicated"

"Does he know that you're a homo?" Lou asked hugging the medical chart she was holding

"No"

"Then why he's holding your hand?!"

"I don't know!"

"That was really complicated" Lou patted his shoulder "I have to go. Need to bring this to Dr. Grey" She pointed to the chart "But you should still try to invite him you know.."

"I'll try"

Lou just nodded and walked away just in time Nico appeared looking back at Lou.

"Hey" Will smiled at him opening the can of coffee and drank

"So I was wondering" Nico said "What's Solangelo?"

Will had a decency to turn around and spat the coffee he was drinking straight to the fake plants next to the vending machine. Nico stared at the plants.

"What?" Will coughed looking back at Nico. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand

"I said what is Solangelo? I am hearing it a lot lately on some nurses and doctors talking" Nico said

Will couldn't believe that they were becoming the new trend now in the hospital.

"Why are you so curious about it?" Will asked

"In Italian Solangelo means sun angel" Nico said "So I was curious on what they were talking about"

Will couldn't help but smile. He liked it. He did not realize that a ship name could mean something so beautiful "So you can speak Italian?"

"Of course. I was an Italian in my mortal life before"

Will just nodded in awe "Of course you are…"

"So what is Solangelo?" Nico insisted

"I don't know, it was just some trend on social media site, I think.."

Nico didn't look convinced but thankfully he bought Will's lie.

Before Will could chicken out "Are you free this weekend?"

"Why?" Nico frowned

"I wanted to invite you to my mom's house but if you're not available that's okay" Will said it too fastly for his taste.

Nico continued to frown and Will was growing nervous. He did not realize that he was gripping the coffee can hard that coffee started to spill on his hand.

"When exactly this weekend?" Nico asked

"Sunday" Will answered immediately ignoring his coffee stained hand

"Okay" Nico said

"Okay?" Will said

"I am going with you"

Will wanted to do the chicken dance in delight but of course he resisted and did his best to stay still and natural.

"All right see you this weekend" Will grinned widely. The kind of jaw-tearing grin

Nico just nodded

Will was definitely excited for the weekend.

* * *

 **Please Review! Thank you!**


	11. X- NICO

**X**

 **NICO**

In Nico's head warning sirens and bells were blaring. His _inner self_ was screaming at him that everything he was doing that has something to do with the name of Will Solace was _purely_ and _utterly wrong._

But there's also _other part_ of himself that was urging him to go on, that's it's all right to be with Will because …. He just liked to be with that guy. Nico liked seeing Will vibrant smile, twinkling pale blue eyes and his ever cheerful voice. And that _other part_ was stronger than his _inner self_ , that it was always taking all his energy to ignore and fight that _other part_ because his _inner self_ was the one that's making sense to him and the _other part_ was mostly confusion.

However, there came a point that he'd given up because he was so tired of ignoring that _other part,_ he was so tired of fighting the _other part_ so he let it go. He obeyed the _other part_ because it was easier that way, it was easier to embrace it rather than fight it even though Nico still hadn't solved the mystery of Will Solace.

Little did Nico di Angelo know, answers came rushing to him like a flash flood half an hour later. And he wasn't prepared for what he will learn.

* * *

 _Half an hour earlier…_

Nico found Will Solace talking to a small crowd in the almost deserted lobby of JHH the crowd consists of a blonde, he knew as Annabeth Jackson, beside her was his husband Percy Jackson who was back to his own health because he could already stand firmly on his two feet. There's also another blonde, this time a guy with eyeglasses sitting on a wheel chair. Behind the wheel chair, was a very beautiful girl with dark tanned skin and chocolate brown hair that was cut unevenly.

"On the contrary, Doc" Annabeth said to Will "When Percy found out that I was pregnant, he was sitting very still that I thought he turned into stone like he saw Medusa's eyes!"

That earned a laugh from the rest.

"Hey!" Percy complained "I was shock you know. What am I supposed to do?"

"Man, I was betting for more of a Kelp Headed stunt or reaction" the blonde sitting on the wheel chair shook his head

"Not you too" Percy glared at him

"Anyway doc" Annabeth interrupted "We would actually like to invite you on Percy's birthday this weekend since you just live a few blocks from us"

Nico thought that these people had been pretty close to each other ever since Will bumped into Annabeth while on grocery shopping and learning that the Jacksons and he live not far from each other. Will being a friendly ball of sunshine to everyone started talking to Annabeth about random things as they shopped like they were good ol' friends. Not that Nico was secretly stalking on Will during his free period.

Will smiled, his usual bright smile "Sorry, I'll pass. I have other plans this weekend maybe next year?"

"Sure doc" Percy grinned "We are looking forward to it next year"

"Anyway" Will switching into doctor mode looking at Percy "Percy, even though you can now stand on your two feet. Please do not restrain yourself okay. Annabeth was kind of worried since you decided to go back on your job immediately. I know your job being a police officer and all but I really do appreciate if you are going to be a little bit low on your job at the moment. Give it a month or two"

"Yes doc" Percy grumbled almost hesitantly and held Annabeth's hand.

"So do you too, Jason" Will looked this time at the blonde in the wheelchair "You've just been discharge an hour earlier. Strictly follow Dr. Knowles' orders. " Then Will looked up at the girl behind Jason's wheelchair "Strapped him to bed if you must Piper"

The girl named Piper grinned "With pleasure, doc"

"Hey" Jason grumbled too

Soon they all bid farewell to the doctor and Nico walked towards him. Will immediately saw him and smiled.

"Hi" Will greeted quietly

Nico just nodded

"I am really looking forward this weekend" Will sighed contentedly as they both walked "Of course, I am going to see my mom again after a very long time and you're going to meet her"

"I still don't understand why you're going to drag me there though…."

"And I still don't understand why don't you get it that I want my friend to meet my mom" Will said exasperatedly

"Do all of your friends meet your mom?" Nico raised an eyebrow at him

"Just the friends I am really close to…. "

They stopped in an empty hallway and Nico stared at him "Are we really that close now?"

"Of course" Will grinned "Can't you feel it?"

"Barely" Nico deadpanned

"Hey!" Will said "Admit it or not, you considered me as your friend because you agreed on this"

Nico sighed "I am just tired…"

"Tired?"

"Let's just say that I am tired of treading against the current. I am just going with the flow now. I found out that it's convenient that way"

"I am afraid I don't follow…"

"I just want to be with you Solace, is that an enough explanation?"

"….."

"Anyway" Nico continued who was oblivious to Will's silence and his reddened face "I have to go. Another soul to escort"

"Y-yeah, I-I also have a surgery" Will stammered

Nico just nodded. He looked at the blonde as he stumbled along the hallway. Nico just shook his head disappearing in a black smoke.

* * *

After escorting the soul, Nico was wandering in the empty alleyway in the middle of the night. It was quiet and Nico liked it. But then the quietness was shattered instantly..

"NICO!" someone hollered behind him

Nico turned and found himself being crushed into a hug by none other than Bob Iapetus. He was being lifted from the ground as Bob continued to hug him. If he was just a plain mortal, Nico bet that his ribs would crack in an instant by the grip of Bob

"Bob. I told you. No touching" Nico said quietly

"Sorry" Bob put him down but still grinning "I was just glad to see you again. I missed you my dear friend. Don't you miss me?"

Nico just snorted but deep inside he was glad to see the fellow death angel again

"But where have you been?" Nico said "I haven't seen you in a while.."

"A usual, punishment, I've been in California. Don't ask the details of it. You wouldn't want to know" Bob said "But for some good news, I am back on death angel's job. The higher ups did not take my license, for the time being"

"That's great Bob!" Nico exclaimed "I told you, you'll get back"

"Yeah, right" Bob smiled "So how's my dear friend while I am gone?"

Nico paused. That when something hit him. He gazed up at Bob "Actually, I've been looking for you these past few weeks…"

Bob's face lit up "Ah, you're going to ask me a question, right?"

"Right" Nico rubbed his neck uncomfortably

"Something's bothering you" Bob observed

"Well yeah.."

"Let's talk about it" Bob said

They both sat on a fire escape, legs in between the railings and feet dangling over.

"I actually don't know where to start" Nico looked down

"Well, what's bothering you then?" Bob asked

This time Nico stared at Bob "It's not what, it's who and that who has a name, Will Solace"

Bob frowned "Who?"

So that's when it started, Nico started talking about Will Solace. It surprised him that words suddenly poured in. Words that were confined deep inside him for a long period of time. He told Bob everything, everything that confused him, everything that he _thinks_ of, just everything about Will.

Bob just listened as Nico talked barely pausing. When he's done he was almost out of breath. But he felt good that it all came out, lifting the weights over him.

"So what do you think about it?" Nico asked

Bob stared at him

And Nico does not like the way Bob stared at him

"Bob?"

"Nico" Bob took a deep breath "Do you still know what love is?"

Nico frowned "What?"

"Love, a human emotion.."

"Hold on" Nico said "How this love is connected with what we are talking about?"

"Oh Nico, because I think that's what you felt for that Will guy. You love him"

"No" Nico said looking at Bob like he'd grown another head

"Yes, Nico from the way you talked about him, you seemed to really care about him. I think you're falling-"

"Stop!" Nico gripped the railing and shook it with so much force that the whole fire escape shuddered. He felt like he was going to faint "This is impossible. How- death angels, don't feel any emotion.."

"But you already felt it the moment you first met. Death angels can fall in love sometimes… although it's a rare case" Bob argued

"You're lying" Nico couldn't look at him

"Why would I lie about it?" Bob asked "You are my friend Nico.."

Nico closed his eyes as he leaned his forehead on the metal pole of the railing. Of course, he already forgot what love is. That's one of the many things that fade when you became a death angel. Again, it seemed so wrong but it was making sense to him…

However, if that is the case, it was clear to Nico that he was breaking one of the three sacred rules.

 _Do not let your dead heart tarnish with human emotions._


	12. XI - NICO

**XI**

 **NICO**

"Nico, do you know why I tolerate the punishments given to me?" Bob asked looking up at the stars

Nico opened his eyes and moved his face away from the pole to look at Bob "Why?"

"Because it's worth it, if you are just going to look closely, mortals are actually cool people" Bob grinned at him

Nico was about to retort but then Will's face flashed on his head and he decided to keep his mouth shut because he was starting to agree to it.

"But this could not happen" Nico suddenly stood up "I mean, if the higher ups know about this, I'm screwed… and there's no second chance.."

Bob stared at him "Do you think Will guy is worth the trouble? Besides I am the only one who knows about it. My mouth is sealed with duct tape and extra cement. So you can count on me.."

Nico's gaze soften at Bob "Thank you, I-I am really grateful.."

"See, Nico my friend. You're more human than I thought you would be. You know how to be grateful!"

"Shut up. This is not funny" Nico glared at him

"Who said it is. Love should never be taken lightly much less taken for granted" Bob said "So Nico are you willing to take the risk? For Will?"

Nico took a deep breath "I don't know… yet…"

Bob nodded "Think about it-no, you should _feel_ about it for a moment because my dear friend you're heart is beating back alive and that's something…"

"Bob I don't know what to do.." Nico said

"Choose something that you would not regret in the end"

"And how will I know that?"

Bob shrugged "You just do. Does everything should need explanation?"

"But Bob you know what happened to the death angels who fall in love" Nico's face contorted

Bob nodded grimly "Ah yes, like what happened to Sierra… suffered eternal pain in the fields of punishment. That's why I am asking you if you are willing to take a risk.."

Nico closed his eyes again, his head tilted up "Bob if you were in my position, what will you do?"

"I think you already know the answer to that. I kind of envy you, because you already felt what it's like to fall in love. I like to feel that too you know, _knowing_ is different from _feeling_. I've seen people who fell in love and they have this brightest smile on their faces. Although, it's not always happy being in love, I think love is still priceless"

Nico's eyes opened "This wouldn't do. I need to think"

Bob nodded and stood up "Okay. Just remember, if you need any help you can always count on me"

Nico tapped Bob's shoulders "Thank you Bob, you don't know how much I am grateful that you are here"

Bob grinned "Of course you are my friend! I will help you"

"I'll go ahead now" Nico said

"Sure, I also have a soul to escort" Bob said

And they both dissolved in black smoke at the same time. Nico appeared in a dark empty hallway and he internally groaned. He immediately recognized the hallway of JHH. Of course, he will be pulled here. He travelled in darkness without much thought of where he was going so his subconscious was the one who steered the navigation. He looked around and froze. At the far end of the hallway was a stretcher and in that stretcher there was someone lying. That someone was in long lab coat and has a familiar mop of blonde hair. Nico vanished.

He materialized next to the stretcher where Will was lying. Will was lying on his back and snoring quietly.

Nico stared at Will as he grasped his chest.

Inside his chest was a heart, heart that was only like an accessory to a death angel's body.

But for Nico, his beating heart has a purpose now, it was now beating for Will.

 _I am in love with him._

He tried to roll that thought on his head, unexpectedly a tentative smile appeared on his face. It felt so weird to smile because this was the first time he smiled as a death angel.

It felt.. good.

Hesitantly, he reached Will's face, he delicately brushed aside the curly strands of blonde hair resting across Will's forehead. Then softly, Nico let his knuckles ran down Will's cheeks. Will suddenly stirred, thankfully he did not wake up.

Will's face turned to Nico, as his lips slightly parted open.

For once, Nico let his heart took over because his heart now wasn't just an accessory, it was now substantial and it has power to rule over certain things.

Nico leaned forward, his lips touched the tip of Will's nose, and then his head moved a little bit down, his lips hovering, inches away from Will's lips.

He was not surprised anymore when he got attracted to a same gender, it was because long before he became a death angel….

Nico froze

Images suddenly flashed through his head.

Nico suddenly staggered backward leaning back on the wall as if some unknown force pushed him away. He gasped.

He vanished millisecond before Will opened his eyes and sat up rubbing his eyes. He looked around a little bit disoriented.

Nico reappeared on the parking lot, he leaned at the back of a car, he was still gasping for breath and as if strength suddenly left his body.

It was all because of the images that flashed through his head a while back.

He now remembered how he died.

Back in 1940's he was tortured and bullied to death because of his homosexuality. And Bianca also died of trying to protect him.

* * *

 **yay it's a double update! I've been trying to update these past few days but ff wouldn't allow me to upload anything on docs manager. thankfully i've found a way to resolve the problem.**

 **on the other note, I've seen the news about the Orlando shooting in a gay club. heartbreaking and awful! Ever since i started shipping solangelo _hard_ I started to appreciate the LGBT's more than ever and i also have some gay friends. i guess 1940's terror still kind of live in the present.**

 **Anyway, the next update is going to be all about Will's visit to Naomi. Promise! my classes started this week so i don't know how long it will take for me** **to update the next, please just bear with me. i am going to try to fit the writing into my sched because i love you guys mwaahhh.**

 **Reviews please? Thank you to the infinityyyyyyyyy**

 **Thanks for reading and subscribing the story!**


	13. XII - WILL

**XII**

 **WILL**

"Nico, sausages are meant to be eaten not to be stared at" Will said putting his hand on his hips as he pointed a spatula with his other hand on Nico. Nico was sitting on the dining table

"Right" Nico said as he forked down the sausage on his plate and nibbled it.

Will stared at Nico. Ever since the death angel knocked on his door early in the morning for their trip to Brooklyn, Will noticed that something was _off_ with Nico. The blonde was so used to Nico's indifference that he was able to pinpoint the difference between aloofness and melancholy. Besides, Nico wasn't wolfing down the food in front of him and that's already something.

"Are you all right?" Will asked concernedly

"Huh?" Nico looked up at him distractedly

"I am asking if you are all right"

"Of course" Nico answered casually "You should eat so we can go already to your mom. You're dying to see her, right?"

He let his concern passed for a moment and he smiled a little bit "Hell yes I am. I miss her so much" He put down the spatula on the counter and remove his apron. He sat opposite to Nico and ate.

Moments later, they were on the road and Will was driving his black Chevrolet. He glanced briefly on his side to see Nico was absentmindedly looking at the window. They reached the Brooklyn Bridge when Will broke the silence by voicing out the thought that was nagging at the back of his mind.

"We can turn back, if you didn't want to go" Will was staring straight ahead

Nico's head whipped at Will's direction "What? No! What makes you think that?"

Will frowned "I know that something was up with you, maybe it's-"

"It's not" Nico cut in then sighed "I want to meet your mom too, you know. I know she's very important to you and I like to know the people who are dear to you"

"Then what is wrong? " Will looked at him

"Eyes on the road, doc, we don't want you to be carted off in the nearest hospital" Nico chided

Will followed and overtook the car in front. He grumbled "You're always changing the subject"

"I just don't want to ruin the mood. I might tell it to you later" Nico said looking back at the window

" _Might"_ Will grumbled again

"Just drive safely, Solace and stopped complaining" Nico continued to stare at the window

"Do death angels have super hearing too?" Will protested "You weren't supposed to hear that!"

This time, Nico turned on him and deadpanned "We don't and I don't need a super hearing ability when you're not good at lowering your voice.

"Fine. Fine" Will waved dismissively. Nico resumed on staring at the window.

"You're cute" Will said under his breath

"You're annoying" He repeated at the same tone level

"But you're still handsome" He continued

"Solace, stop sounding like a bee" Nico said

"Did you hear me?" Will glanced briefly at him. Now, he's starting to get nervous.

"No"

"Ha!" Will said triumphantly "Now who said that I am not good at lowering my voice?"

"I was wondering. Didn't your mouth ever get tired of talking? You talk non-stop" Nico said

The traffic light flashed red so they stopped. This gave Will a chance to face Nico "Hey, I have a voice box that functions very well, why not use it? At least I am not a grumpy old man like someone out there…"

Nico raised an eyebrow at him "Are you referring to me, Solace?"

"Oh yeah, look at that, I forgot that there's a what, a 75 year old passenger here!" Will feigned a surprise look "And you are kind of cold-hearted and ill-tempered too! What a coincidence! Maybe it was really you?"

Nico shook his head and raised his hands in defeat "I gave up, Solace. I gave up"

Will froze staring at him

"Err, Solace. The traffic light's green now" Nico said

"You smiled" Will said in wonder

"You have to move Solace" Nico glanced at the back. Cars behind them started to honk angrily at them

Will did not move

"Damn it Will! Step on the gas or I will do it!"

That snapped Will out of his trance and that concluded their whole drive. Moments after, they pulled over in front of a big white three-storey Victorian house.

"Here we are" Will announced

Nico looked over the window and observe the house briefly. He turned to Will "Complete opposite of your cramped apartment in Manhattan"

"Well yeah but I really don't mind living there" Will pulled out his keys from the ignition "Let's go and meet my mom" He opened the car door and Nico followed suit.

"I should have captured it with a camera" Will said when they reached the front porch

Nico looked back at him frowning "What?"

"You smiled and I missed the chance to preserve it. It might not happen again!"

Nico rolled his eyes "Drop it, Solace. You are making a big deal out of it"

"But that's the first time I saw you smile!" Will argued "And seriously, you should smile more often. It suits you"

"Yeah, whatever" Nico said absentmindedly

"Will you smile again?" Will persisted

"Solace" Nico chided

Will was going to open his mouth to argue when the door opened.

"I opened the door for you. You didn't seem to plan on ringing the doorbell" The woman on the door said

"Mom!" Instantly, Will was hugging Naomi Solace. She laughed.

Naomi Solace is in her early fifties. She has an auburn hair with streaks of gray into it. Her hazel eyes are calm and warm and the side of her eyes crinkled as she laughed. She's a real beauty of her time. She wore a gray cardigan over a brown turtle neck and black pants.

Will pulled away from the hug first and looked closely at his mom. He frowned "You seemed to look a little bit paler than usual. And since when did you start applying glossy lipstick. I thought you don't like it?"

Naomi sighed "I miss you too, son. I didn't go out much often and preference changed over time. Does my answer satisfy you?"

Will grinned "I miss you too. Mom"

"Now, we are being rude with your friend here" Naomi turned to Nico

"oh yeah, sorry about that" Will said sheepishly and started to introduce "Nico this is my mom, Naomi. Mom this is my friend Nico di Angelo"

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am" Nico extended his hand for handshake

"Just call me Naomi" Naomi smiled warmly and accepted Nico's hand. Then they all went inside.

"Wow. I miss this house" Will said as they went pass the receiving area and head straight to the living room.

The interior was more elegant with its maple wood flooring, grand wood burning fireplace and brick walls painted white. The whole area gave an open and bright vibe.

"Then you should come here often" Naomi said

"If you just didn't kick me out of the house, there won't be any trouble" Will said

Nico looked inquiringly at the two

"Oh, I think it will be more troubling that you are driving back and forth at night and in early morning when I know you are dead tired from your work" Naomi laughed then she turned to Nico and tapped his shoulder affectionately "Feel free to look around and consider this as your home too"

"Thanks, Naomi" Nico smiled a little bit

"There!" Will exclaimed and pointed at Nico "You smiled again"

"Son, you treat Nico's smile like it is a latest science discovery. People do smile" Naomi said

"Mom, for Nico, it's a rare occurrence. I swear" Will said

Nico rolled his eyes again and Naomi laughed. Nico's gaze fell on the stack of Vinyl records in the corner.

Naomi noticed this "Why don't you look at it, Nico. There might be some music you might like" she urged.

Nico nodded gratefully and made his way towards the vinyl records.

Naomi pulled her son to the dining hall where they will be out of ear shot of Nico "My.. He's not much of a talker, isn't he? Is it that why you got attracted to him because opposites attracts?"

The kitchen was occupying the back of the house. The area matches the coffee colored theme of the house. There are several windows at the side to let some air in.

Will groaned sitting at the kitchen stool of the bar counter "Don't get me started at it mom"

"Yeah, right. It's complicated" Naomi crossed her arms raising an eyebrow at him

"In all honesty, I am quite scared" Will suddenly said "I like him too much and I don't know what to do if…" Will couldn't finish

"Honey" Naomi held his hand "If Nico can't accept and love for who you are, you don't deserve him. We both know that you deserve so much more than that. You are good guy"

"Now, I felt like tearing up" Will said that made his mother laughed

"I was hoping for a free hospitalization at your hospital just in case I get sick" Naomi said

"No, mom. You can't get sick. You can't go to my hospital. Understand?" Will said

"Yes, doc. I won't" Naomi said "Now, why don't you show your special friend around the house while I prepare something to eat"

Will nodded and stood up. He found Nico still in the living room looking up at the abstract painting hanging on the wall. The painting was a combination of golden yellow and black curves and lines.

"What do you think about that painting?" Will asked when he's already at Nico's side.

"The sun touches the night" Nico said still staring at the painting.

Will raised an eyebrow at him "I didn't know you have knacks for interpreting abstract painting"

"I don't. I just tell what I think I see. Who knows what the artist intention on painting this. But still, I like it" Nico said

"Okay. Mr. Know-it-all, do you want a tour around. I can show you my bedroom upstairs" Will said

Nico shrugged "Sure"

"So. How many girls did you brought here?" Nico said as they ascended the stairs

Will tripped on the steps thankfully he managed to hold unto to the banister "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you get a girlfriend or something…" Nico looked away as they both stopped mid stairs

"We have to clear something here, di angelo" Will said "I'm gay, not interested with girls.."

"Oh.."

"Yeah.." Will resumed on climbing the stairs.

There was silence as they walked at the hallway. They stopped in front of a door at the end.

"My room" Will said as he pushed the door open

The room was well-lighted by the sun streaming down the window. It was also big with adjoining bathroom and cream colored walls. A mid size bed with dark blue sheets. Bigger shelf that contains more medical books than what Will have in his apartment. A series of picture frames at the top of a small cabinet which Nico took interest to look at. Will just sat at the edge of the bed looking at Nico.

After a while Nico sat beside Will and looked around "You must really love working at JHH to give up living in here. There are hospitals too here in Brooklyn, why not work here instead?"

Will shrugged "I don't know. I just got stuck in JHH and I already love working there. I have friends and good workmates there so I did not leave" _And most of the time you are there too.._

"Your mom is great too" Nico looked at him

Will grinned "I know right. Mom is one of the reasons why I worked hard as a doctor. I want to give her a better life so when I earned enough I bought this house for her"

"She's lucky to have a son like you"

"Did you just compliment me?" Will raised an eyebrow at him

"Take it. It's rare" Nico said

Will laughed. Nico shifted in his position and unintentionally laid his hand at the edge of the bed, just right next to Will's hands. Their pinkies touched briefly but that smallest contact seemed to shoot electric current on Will's hand. Will could swear that Nico felt it too when he jumped slightly at the contact. Then there was silence again, a palpitating, condensing silence that seemed to push them together. The air seemed to get thinner and it felt like it's hard to breath for Will.

He and Nico suddenly stood up like they were both feeling the thickness of the atmosphere.

Will cleared his throat "There's also the attic. You want to see it too?"

"Sure" Nico said immediately.

Then Will was at the door before anyone could blink. He's fanning himself when he's already outside. What had just happened back there?

They ascended again a narrow staircase leading to the attic. There was a trapdoor so Will pushed it open upward. He crawled his way in at first, and then stood up. The attic was small and they could touch the ceiling. There's also a light coming from the small window.

"Oh thank gods, it wasn't dusty here. Guess mom maintained it very well" Will said looking around.

There were various musical instruments scattered around, a case of violin lying on the floor, a guitar leaning on the wall and an organ in its stand. Stacks of musical sheets are in the shelf together with some music albums and black and white pictured frames again. Will looked at them with nostalgia. Even though, music was not his forte, those instruments and other related materials were part of his childhood.

"Your mom is a singer?" Nico asked

Will walked towards Nico and looked at the picture frame he was holding. It was a younger version of Naomi Solace in front of a microphone. In the background a band was playing.

" _Was_ a singer" Will corrected "Mom was an alt-country singer. That's how he met dad. They met in Austin" Then he looked at Nico and only to realize the _very_ close proximity of their faces. Nico looked up too and froze. No one dared to move for a heartbeat afraid of what will happen next.

Nico was the brave one who shattered the stilling of time when he turned around to put the frame back to the shelf. He cleared his throat "So if you don't mind asking where's your dad now?" His back was still turned to Will.

Will backed away for some space between them while rubbing his neck "Err, I-I honestly don't know. I haven't talk to him in ages. Last time I heard from him which was the from news, he was in Greece and he was going out with some environmentalist named Daphne or Hyacinthus. Jeez I don't know. By the way, my father is a bisexual"

"Ah" Nico's back was still turned to him

Will was cursing internally. Beads of sweat were starting to form on his forehead and he wiped it angrily. He badly wanted to close the gap between them but what if he's wrong on the water his trudging on. He couldn't afford to lose Nico..

"You're actually lucky. You know, to born in the time where people started to accept _our_ sexual preferences…."

" _Our_?" Will asked faintly

This time Nico faced him and Will was shocked to see tears running down on Nico's face.

"Nico!" In an instant Will was in front of Nico holding his shoulder with both of his hand "A-are you all right? What happened?"

"The other day, I remembered something" Nico said hoarsely "I remembered how I died and it's not pretty.. I died of condemnation of people because I am gay… Gay people weren't really that accepted in the late 1930's you know.."

"Oh Nico.." As if on instinct, Will hugged him. Nico froze but Will understand his reaction. He now realize how hard it must for Nico to go through something like that and Nico was hurt because of it. So Will was kind of hurting too for Nico.

"It's all right now. You are now in the present were people like us are now accepted.. You _live_ in the present now" Will rubbed his back comfortingly

After a while Nico pulled away and detached himself from Will. He looked at Will "I told you, I was just going to ruin the mood"

"So that's the reason why you're acting strange earlier?" Will asked

"Yeah, sorry"

"There's nothing to apologize for. I totally understand it" Will answered "I know you're still upset about it. I wish I could do something…"

Nico glanced at the side looking at the guitar "Then plays a song for me. It will make me feel better"

"You will feel worst when you heard me sing. I swear"

"Please Will?" Nico looked at him hopefully "I never heard you play or sing… I was curious.."

How Will could resist if Nico was looking at him this way? So Will found himself sitting on the floor with a guitar on his lap and Nico sitting in front of him.

"I warned you. Seriously." Will said

"Just get on with it Will" Nico said

Will took a deep breath and started strumming

 _Bend your chest open_

 _So I can reach your heart_

 _I need to get inside or I'll start a war_

 _Wanna look at the pieces that make you who you are_

 _I wanna build you up then pick you apart_

 _Let me see the dark sides as well as the bright_

 _I'm gonna love you inside out_

 _I'm gonna love you inside out_

 _I'm gonna love you…_

Will stopped

They stared at each other.

The air was humming with energy

They could feel it.

The pale blue eyes was trying to relay a message

The pale blue eyes was hopeful

The dark brown eyes deciphered it.

* * *

 **double update! Click next page please :)**


	14. XIII - WILL

**XIII**

 **WILL**

The thickening wall around them was shattered by Naomi's voice.

"Hey guys! You up there? Food's ready!" Naomi shouted somewhere below

"Err, yes!" Will shouted not breaking the gaze with Nico "We're coming down"

"I think we should head down" Will said

"Yeah. . ."

They were now sitting at the dining table enjoying a steak, buttered vegetables and mashed potatoes when Naomi started to interrogate them. Naomi was sitting at the head and the two sitting opposite to each other.

"So where did you guys first meet?" Naomi asked

"We met at the hospital" Nico was the one who answered

"Oh how? You're Will's patient?" Naomi asked again smiling

The latter two looked at each other, silently asking each other on how to answer this. In all honesty, they didn't think of coming up with some cover story (which was kind of stupid on their part) since their first meeting was mostly about discovering each other special abilities and Naomi was completely oblivious to it.

Nico was like, _You answer this one! What am I supposed to tell?!_

Will was like, _And you think I can answer this one? I don't know what to tell too!_

Naomi was looking back and forth between the two

Nico looked at Naomi "We met because I was visiting a friend who happened to be Will's patient that time and the rest was history, I guess…"

"Oh, so what do you do?" Naomi asked Nico "Are you working?"

Nico looked again at Will. _What now? I can't just tell her that my job is to pick souls!_

Will bit his lip. He hates lying to his mother but this was a kind of lie that has a valid reason. He nodded briefly at Nico. _I've got this._

Will looked at his mother "He's still studying at NYU for his master's degree in forensic medicine.."

"Okay" Naomi said slowly and looked back and forth again between the two "But why do I feel like I've just witness some telepathic message between the two of you."

Nico cleared his throat while drinking his wine

"You're just imagining things, mom!" Will said

"Don't think I haven't been there William" Naomi said "Stares have meanings too and it was already something when you are able to talk with your eyes"

"I don't know what you're talking about mom" Will said cutting the steak with knife. He discreetly gazed at Nico and was surprised to see Nico already staring at him. Will immediately looked down at his plate.

"You two are cute" Naomi said smiling as she drank her glass of juice then she put down the glass and looked at Will "Anyway Will, I am going to Boston to visit your Aunt May. I may be gone for a while"

"Oh, okay" Will nodded "That might do some good to you, you need to get out often. You're looking paler than him" He pointed his fork at Nico "When are you going anyway?"

"This coming Thursday" Naomi said

"Okay, just call me when you got back"

She smiled at her son "Yes doc"

Pretty soon, they were all standing at the front porch as Will and Nico were ready to leave.

"Take care Mom and just say hi to Aunt May for me" Will hugged his mom

"I will and you too, take care and don't overwork yourself" Naomi said. When she pulled away, she turned to Nico.

"It was lovely to meet you Nico" Naomi smiled at him as she held both of his arms "Please take care of my son okay?"

"Mom, he's not a babysitter much less I don't need someone who needs to babysit me" Will said

But Nico just nodded "I will, Naomi and thank you for welcoming me at your home"

Naomi laughed affectionately "Oh you're such a darling. No wonder… " Then she turned to Will "I totally approved of Nico"

"Mom!" Will could feel himself blushing

Naomi just laughed again "Now off you go! You don't want to get caught on heavy traffic"

"Bye mom" Will kissed his mother's cheek. Then he and Nico went to his car. They drove away as Will glanced at the rear mirror and saw the reflection of his mother waving back at them

As his mother predicted, they were stuck in a traffic going back.

Will glanced at Nico "You okay?"

Nico nodded at him "Yeah. Actually, I felt better when we visited your mother. She's really nice. I already forgot what it's like to have a mother taking care of you.."

"Do you remember what your mother looked like?"

"A little bit. Her name was Maria di Angelo and I have a fuzzy memory of her, Bianca and me going on a walk along the streets of Italy…"

Will just nodded. Will leaned forward to open his music player but then he immediately regretted his action when a song played. The very song he sang earlier to Nico.

 _Bend your chest open.. So I can reach your heart…_

Will internally cringed. Yeah, what are the chances that the _Inside Out_ by The Chainsmokers was first on his playlist.

"You're not that bad.." Nico said

Will looked at Nico who was staring out the window "What?"

"I didn't lie when I said that it will make me feel better if you played a song for me. It's effective" Nico said

Will wanted to stare a little bit longer to Nico but the cars were moving again so he had no choice to focus his eyes on the road.

"I am glad, that I was able to help somehow.." Will said

"Thank you"

Will smiled, eyes on the road "Your welcome"

" _Thank you for coming to my life"_

Will was swearing that he imagined hearing it. How could Nico possibly say…

After an hour and half of the drive, they reached the underground parking of Will's apartment. They both climbed down the car and met at rear of the car.

They stood there for a full minute not knowing what to say, unsure if they should bid good byes when it felt like they were both reluctant to end the day

"So" Will started "Thank you for coming along, Nico"

"Yeah, I am glad that I came along. I enjoyed it" Nico answered

"So, I think I am going up now. . . " Will pointed awkwardly at the stairs

"Yeah. . . "

"Yeah, bye.." Will turned and walked away. He's 15 steps away (Yes, he was counting) when Nico called him. Will turned around faster than lightning "Yes?"

"Take care, Solace"

Will tried to hide his disappointment that Nico was going to say something more. But who is he to expect anything else. "You too" Then he quickly walked away.

When he reached his apartment, he pulled out his key and opened the door. He went inside and put down his keys on the counter. He walked towards the fridge and got a pitcher of water. He opened his cupboard to get a glass then he poured water on it. He drank two full glasses

"Stupid. Will. What do you expect about it? You're hopeless" Will muttered as he poured water again on the glass and downed the water "You're really stupid" He turned around to put the glass on the sink when he yelped in surprise and dropped the glass. The glass smashed on the floor. Thankfully, Will was still wearing shoes so his feet were kind of protected by the impact of the shards of glass

But Will couldn't care about it when three feet away from him, Nico was standing and looking down at the smashed glass "Don't move. Even though you are wearing shoes, thick shards might go through the sole of your shoes"

Will moved towards him "What are you doing here?"

Nico hissed "You idiot!"

"I asked what are you doing here!" Will raised his voice

Nico stared at him "I don't know. . ."

"Are you messing with me, di Angelo?" Will was starting to get annoyed

"I honestly don't know" Nico looked away "It felt like I couldn't just leave like that…"

"Like what?" Will raised an eyebrow at him

Nico stared at him. There. The familiar electric current passing between the two.

 _It felt like I have to tell you something…_

"Is there something you want to tell me, Nico?"

"The night that I remembered my death" Nico started "It was the night that I was supposed to steal something from you…"

Will frowned at him "Steal?"

"Yeah, and I think it's more proper that I steal it to you with you being awake and all. . . "

"Nico, stealing is never been proper"

"So should I ask permission then?"

"On what?"

"No. Screw that. I'll just do it" Nico took three strides towards Will and reached for his lips.

Will, on his part, it took a little while before it sank to him what was happening. Then another moment to let his brain processed it fully so he can do an appropriate action which was to kiss Nico back. _Hard._

He doesn't mean it to be that way, but weeks of frustration over this guy had set Will to the edge and it almost drove him nuts. Nico was pushed to the edge of the table as Will fisted on Nico's black shirt.

The need of air was what forced the two to separate. They were both gasping for air.

"I really thought that you're a hopeless case…" Will breathed out resting his forehead to Nico

"And here I was thinking that you're the one who's hopeless as you keep on grumbling earlier" Nico couldn't help but smile

"Please say it to me, Nico" Will pleaded

"I like you, you idiot" Nico kissed the side of his mouth

"Damn it!" Will growled "Just so you know, the feelings are mutual. I like you Nico freaking di Angelo" Then his lips found Nico's once more.

They forgot the world around them.

* * *

 ** _The end._**

 **LOL. JUST KIDDING! Things just start to heat up and there's still a Part 2 for this whole story. Yeah, it was divided into two parts. So we kinda have a long way to goooo. Anyway, thanks partly to The Chainsmoker's song Inside Out that I was able to produce two chapters. yay! Inside out was like my theme song for this fanfic (i have this habit of pairing a song to every story i've written lol)**

 **Reviews pleasee?**

 **Thank you for reading and subscribing and reviewing!**

 **~Nikki**


	15. XIV - WILL

**XIV**

 **WILL**

You'd think that after all the hidden and suppressed feelings were out of the box, it's going to be easier, but it's really not, especially in a reality where a death angel was involved. Again, it's NOT going to be easy. Not even an inch. So if you're going to date a death angel, you've been warned. . .

"Doc , you've got 7 surgeries in a row since Doc Yew took a sudden leave to take care of his sick wife," Lou said as soon as she saw Will came to the station.

"Okay" Will opened a medical chart resting on the counter

"And you're first one is going to start in half an hour . . ." Lou added who was frowning at Will

"Okay" Will was continuously looking at the chart "Who's the first patient I am going to open up?"

"Ben Miller, bypass surgery." Then Lou added uncertainly "If you want, we can give the other surgeries to the other doctors, Dr. Knowles isn't loaded yet.."

Will closed the chart and looked up at Lou "No, it's fine. I can handle that. I am going to prepare now for the surgery" He turned around to walk away

"Hey!" Lou called that made Will paused and half turned to her "Are you all right?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" Will said "It's not like I am pissed off just because a certain someone suddenly left without any warning and never came back right after you'd established a mutual feelings"

Lou stared at her "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Nothing" Will waved dismissively and walked away

"Yo, Willie!" Kayla greeted when she bumped into Will "How's your visit with Naomi?"

"Great" Will's only answer then continued his way out the station

Kayla looked at Lou "What on earth happened to him?"

Lou shrugged "All I know is, he's pissed with whomever" Then she paused and her eyes widen "Wait, he was Nico when he went to Naomi, right?"

"As far as I know yes, why?" Kayla said

Lou smirked "We're gonna grill someone in the charcoals later. . "

Kayla just raised an eyebrow at her

Will pulled out his scrub cap from his head as he went out the operating room. He released a long deep breath. Even though it's a minor surgery, it can get a little bit harder when complications started to arise. He almost lost the patient.

And speaking of complication, a complication was staring at Will from a distance. A complication that goes with the name of Nico di Angelo.

"Oh now, you decided to show up" Will said to him shoving both of his hands in the pockets of his scrub shirt

Nico vanished then he reappeared in front of him. Will was unfazed.

"Are you mad at me?" Nico was frowning

"Why would I be mad at you? It's not like you suddenly disappeared without telling anything and you never came back. So here I was being a little bit paranoid that maybe, you changed your mind about _us_ " Will said "Wait, what are we even? Are we official now, like in a relationship? I didn't get a chance to ask since the moment I came back from my room, you're gone"

"Ah, that. . " Nico bit his lip rubbing his neck

"You are hesitating " Will said then he walked passed him

"It's not like that" Nico protested following him "We just need to keep about _us_ a secret. . ."

Will stopped walking and looked at him "Secret? Why?"

"It's because it can be a little bit difficult . . . since you're _you_ and I am _me_. . . and we literally exist in different worlds and it might get really really complicated . . ." Nico tried to explain but Will was half-listening when he saw a man and woman in late fifties walking past behind Nico.

The man was hunched over while the woman was trying her best to support him.

". . . but I'll do my best to work whatever it is going on with us right now . . " Nico paused when he realized that Will was looking behind him and barely listening. He turned around to see what the doctor was looking into and just in time to see the man collapsed and fell to the floor unconscious.

Instantly Will was on their side and in doctor mode. He helped the woman lie the man on the floor. He tried to feel the pulse of the man on his neck.

"Shit. . . " Will murmured and looked around for help but unfortunately no one was around

"What happened?" The woman was started to panic "We were just going to get an chest x-ray like the doctor said. . ."

But Will did not answer. He started to do the cpr on the man because his heart stopped beating

"The aura of death around him is getting strong . . ." Nico said

"Why are you going to get an chest x-ray?" Will asked the woman as he continued doing compression on the chest

"My husband was having trouble in breathing since yesterday and he complained about chest pain and back pain too so we decided to come here. . "

"Damn it! Why isn't anyone out here!" Will looked around and also noticed that Nico vanished. For one second he thought that Nico might already got the soul of the man

"Will!" A voice of woman called out. Will turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw Lou and Kayla were running towards Will. Lou was pushing the cart with defibrillator on it and Nico was trailing behind them.

"How did you-" Will tried to say

"Nico told us" Kayla knelt down on the other side of the man and flashed the small flashlight in the eyes of the man. She also listened to the heartbeat with the stethoscope while Lou was preparing the defibrillator.

"How long he was out?" Kayla asked

Will was staring at Nico and for one moment Will couldn't grasp the idea that Nico showed up to them just to help to save the man and it's quite ironic that a death angel was doing this. This wasn't on Nico's job description.

"Will!" Kayla snapped him out

"N-Not long ago" Will immediately get the paddles of the defibrillator while Kayla torn open the man's shirt and put electrodes on the man's bare chest.

"1,2,3. Shoot" Will put the paddles on the chest. The body just shot up.

"Again. Set on 200 joules" Will commanded "1,2,3. Shoot"

There's still no response. The wife was starting to cry. Will briefly looked up at Nico

"Keep going" He mouthed and Will slightly nodded

"Again. 300" Will said "1,2,3. Shoot"

The lines on the heart monitor started to rise and fall indicating a heartbeat. All of them sigh in relief.

"Lou, prepare an operating room. Another heart attack and he won't make it. I am going to operate on him" Will said. Lou nodded and ran away.

"Can you do it?" You have a surgery in two hours" Kayla said

"Yep. This man needs help and I can't just turn my back, can I?" Will smiled a little bit.

"I am going to assist you" Kayla said

"Thanks" Will smiled again and looked at Nico who still there and standing awkwardly "Thanks to you too, Neeks. You saved a life"

"Uh, yeah.." Nico's only answer

Soon, the man was wheeled in the operating room and Will was back at the operating room, scrub cap and mask on. He was washing his arms and hands on the sink.

"I suggest you use your glowing trick"

Will paused and looked at his side to see Nico standing there

"You are not allowed here" Will said and looked briefly at the glass window where the man he is going to operate was lying and the rest of the people were preparing for the surgery

"They can't kick me out. They can't see me." Nico shrugged

"Okay" Will said slowly and resumed on washing. He pushed with his knee the panel that was attached to the sink to activate soap dispenser.

"The man was at the edge so your _trick_ might be needed" Nico said

"I won't use that glowing trick anymore" Will declared

Silence.

"D-did I hear you right?" Nico was taken aback "You have your mask on so maybe-"

"You heard me right" Will cut in

"If you're doing this because of me, stop it" Nico said quietly

Will did not answer and pushed the other panel with his knee so the water will come out the faucet.

"Seriously. Stop it" Nico said again

"Don't you trust me that I am capable of saving someone without _that_ trick" Will said

"It's not like that. But that power became a part of you and you can't just give it up!" Nico argued

"But _you_ are a part of me too" Will said

Another silence

"Huh?" Nico said after a moment

"I realized that I can't have both so I need to give up one of them. I can't stand the thought that you might get punish again because I use it. You are right, I couldn't cheat death. I couldn't do it continuously.."

"But still-"

"Oh for Pete's sake!" Will pulled his arms away from the faucet, the water automatically stopped. He faced Nico, his arms slightly raised "I am doing this because I love you okay! I can't stand that you might get hurt!"

Nico stared at Will

"I am going inside, excuse me" Will walked towards the steel door and the door automatically slid open.

Nico remained rooted there for another minute or so.

After Will's shift ended, he was beyond exhausted but he was happy that no one died in all eight surgeries he had performed. That gave him enough energy so he can go home instead of collapsing and sleeping in the locker room. He changed into an orange t-shirt and faded jeans and was ready and eager to go home where his precious bed was waiting. He was already at the lobby of the hospital when he stopped dead in his tracks. Not from afar, near the exit door, Kayla, Lou and Cecil were talking to none other than Nico who seemed a little bit flustered. Will hurriedly walked towards them.

"Hey" Will called to them. They all turned in his direction.

"W-What are you doing here?" Will asked Nico. Will's eyesight might be doing some tricks on him since he was dead tired, but Nico seemed to be a little bit red. . .

"Duh, obviously, he's waiting for you" Kayla rolled her eyes

"Really?" Will was surprised

Nico shrugged only in response

"Now, Nico get Will's butt to his apartment. We know that he's dead tired, he barely left the operating room" Lou said looking at Nico and nudging her head in Will's direction

"Roger" Nico said walking past the three and going on Will's side

"Aww, they're cute aren't they?" Lou said hugging Cecil's arm. Cecil just shook his head smiling

"Shut up" Will mumbled and dragged Nico out holding his hand "We are now going, bye"

When they were out in the street, Will released Nico's hand and faced him "What did they tell you? Did they threaten you or something?"

To Will's surprise again, Nico laughed "How did you know?"

Will sighed scratching his head "They are my friends so I will know. Just don't mind them" Then another sighed "Now get me home, jeez, I can barely walk.."

Nico smiled and held Will's hand "We'll get there fast" He pulled Will in the corner out of sight of the people, then they're gone leaving a trail of black smoke.

Will found himself face-planted at his pillows and lying flat on his stomach at his own bed. Then he moved his head to the side and looked at Nico who was standing at the side of his bed looking back down at him "I will never get use to that disappearing whatever but it's quite convenient. Can we do that every morning so I won't have to walk home?"

"Don't abuse my powers" Nico said "Now sleep, you're tired"

"Nope not yet, we're going to talk right?" Will sat up leaning back at the wall

"But-" Nico paused then sighed "Of course, you're going to be stubborn and insists on talking" Nico sat beside him

"Right" Will grinned at him

For a moment, no one spoke and they just listened to the honking of cars outside.

"You have to know that I am not used to all of this . . ." Nico started looking down at his lap "I really don't remember being with someone in my mortal life so this was like a first to me, all of this.. After all the nothingness in me, I don't even know that I am capable of feeling like this. I knew nothing about. . . love… " Then he shyly looked up at Will who was staring at him with bright blue eyes.

"Tell me, why did you call for Kayla and Lou when the man earlier collapsed on the floor?" Will asked

"He obviously needed help"

"But it's not your responsibility to save him. You are a death angel for goodness' sake"

Nico frowned "I don't know.. But all I know is you're going to be really frustrated if you didn't able to save that man and I don't like it…"

Will smiled and clasped Nico's hand "So maybe, you are learning a thing or two about love…"

Nico stared at Will's smiling face and whispered "What are you doing to me…"

"Just loving you.." Will winked and pecked on Nico's lips. Nico couldn't help but smile

"I am sorry if I just suddenly left last night" Nico said "The truth was, I got a little bit overwhelmed with what's happening to _us,_ then there's my job. . ."

"It's fine, but just don't do it next time, I don't like it when you're suddenly disappearing without warning" Will squeezed Nico's hand

"Yeah and we need to keep this a secret and I can't show up to your friends always, other death angels might see me and.."

"Tell me, are you going to be in trouble because of us?"

"Not entirely, it's just going to be a hell lot complicated if _this_ reached my side, in the underworld I mean.."

"Okay, but are we really official now?"

"If that's what you want" Nico shrugged

"It also involved what you want"

"All, right, let's do this. I just want to be with you. End of discussion"

Will smiled playfully "So what do you prefer, boyfriend? Partner? Significant other?"

"Significant annoyance in your case" Nico grumbled

Will hummed "Is there anything else, I need to know to be in a relationship with a death angel?"

"We can talk about the others later but for now, sleep" Nico ordered

"Okay" Will yawned and put his head on Nico's shoulder

"You're going to be more comfortable in bed, idiot" Nico said

"More comfortable here. .. ." Will mumbled drifting to sleep

"Sweet dreams, Will" Nico whispered

So maybe, dating a death angel won't be easy, but that's fine. All relationships must not be easy, death angel or not. The only perk was _happiness_ and that's all Will felt and his last thought before he drifted to his own dreams.. .

* * *

 **I am trying to update once or twice a month. My goal is to finish Part I at the end of the year because I estimated that the Part I contains 20 or so chapters. Hopefully I can accomplish that goal and hopefully, you'll be able to stick with me until then or until the end of the story** **..**

 **Please review!**

 **Thanks for Reading and see you in the next chapter! :)**


	16. XV - NICO

**XV**

 **NICO**

 _Purpose._

Nico realized that, that is one of the biggest differences between living and the dead. The people live because they were driven by a purpose to continuously exist in this world whereas the dead have nothing . . . They just exist.

Nico was walking along the busy street of Manhattan while observing the people around him. Some of them are in a hurry trying to get where they're going on time, some of them are talking to someone they are with, some of them are alone lost in their own thoughts and there's also a student reading a thick book while walking. He also spotted a bald old man shouting to a seemingly drunkard guy while the old man was shooing him away from his shop.

That's right, _purpose._

Whether it is to get a job, pass an exam, get a pet dog, build a house, to be with family and friends, travel around the world, get rich or be successful, everyone was living for a purpose. So Nico came to a conclusion to the reason why people wanted to live so much, why they were fighting so much to live. . .

It's because they were driven by a purpose. No matter how simple it was, there's always a purpose. .

Nico blended in the crowd as they walked along the pedestrian lane. When he reached the middle, he paused and looked up, he was surrounded by towering of buildings. It was noisy. People were rushing past him. Everything around him was pulsating with life.

And the funny thing was, it occurred to Nico that even though he belonged to the world of the dead, _a sense of purpose was building inside him_.

He continued walking. When he reached the sidewalk, a man ran past him like a blur that Nico had to dodge him so he wouldn't get ran over.

"Hey that man was holding my bag get him!" a lady in mid forties shouted not from afar. She was panting from running trying to catch the man.

Nico looked at the man running away and holding a bag. The man turned in a corner and disappeared. Nico decided to ignored the lady. Instead he turned and resumed his walk. Seconds later, he started to slow down. He paused and took a deep breath. Suddenly he ran to the nearest alleyway and dissolved in black smoke. He reappeared in another alleyway and looked around. At the other end, he saw the same man holding the lady's bag passed by. Nico disappeared again.

Nico materialized on an empty lot connected to the alleyways and he waited. A moment later, the man rounded in the corner running in his direction.

"Out of the way!" the man shouted

Nico just shove his hand deep in the pockets of his aviator jacket and walked calmly towards the man so the man slowed down, frowning and confused.

"Just give me the bag and we're done here" Nico said while walking

"What the f*ck are you talking about?" the man shouted

"Didn't you understand what I had just said?" Nico tilted his head "Give me the bag or else you're going to regret it"

"Cut the crap, kid" the man growled and was going to aim a punch to Nico

Yet even before the man could move a centimetre, Nico materialized in front of him and punched him in the gut instead. A minute later, the man was tied on a nearby post and the bag was beside the man. Nico vanished from the corner just in time the lady appeared with the police and saw the tied man.

Nico found himself watching a man and a woman crying over a body of a girl lying in the bed. He was standing in the hallway of a hospital and right in front of the door. The doctor inside the room just declared the girl dead seconds ago. The death angel wondered if the girl ever fulfilled her purpose in life before she died. Then Nico felt bad for the girl if she didn't even reach any of her goals in life just because her time was up and her time was so early.

"Hey"

Nico turned his head to the side and saw Will standing not from afar. Will was smiling at him and so Nico couldn't help but to smile a little bit. The blond doctor walked towards him

"What are you doing here?" Will asked when he reached the death angel. Then he turned his head towards the door and saw the scene lay in front of him "Oh, you're going to escort the girl's soul?"

"No. Another death angel did it. The soul's gone now" Nico answered looking back at the door and saw the man hugging the woman in comfort as they both cried

Will watched the death angel closely "You looked. . . weird"

"Thanks" Nico's only answer not even looking at Will

"The little boy in Room 308, was he your patient?" Nico suddenly asked

"No. Why?" Will said

"Good. Because I am going to escort him now so I gotta go" Nico said and turned. He started to walk away

"Tsk. I wondered why it's not yet freezing here when he's so cold" Will mumbled shoving his hands in his lab coat

Nico heard it even though he's a little bit far away. He paused. Then he turned around and strode back towards Will.

"What? Why aren't you disappearing in black smoke?" Will asked a little taken aback

Nico's eyes were trained on Will's face. When he was close enough, he held Will's neck and reached for his lips. The blond's eyes widen.

The kiss was deep but short. Nico pulled away leaving a dazed and wide-eyed Will. The death angel turned and walked away once again.

"H-Hey! What the hell!"

Nico ignored Will but his small smile broke into a grin and he dissolved in black smoke.

 _Purpose._

"I'm scared" the soul of the little boy whimpered as Nico led the little boy to the queuing of souls in the DOA Recording Studio. The boy was at the age of 7 or so.

Nico looked down at the little boy who was hugging himself out of fear. The boy was on the verge of tears.

Nico knelt down in front of the boy so they were both on eye-level.

"Look at me" Nico ordered the boy. The boy obeyed reluctantly.

"Here. I am giving this to you" Nico held out the golden paper to the boy "There's nothing to be scared of because that paper is your key to the paradise where you are going to be eternally happy"

The boy accepted the paper while sniffling "I thought I was going to be judge first. How did you know that I am going to the paradise? What if I am not?"

Nico smiled a little bit at him "It's because I could feel that you are a very good boy, all good children go to paradise. In paradise, you are not going to suffer anymore unlike what happened to you in earth. So you don't have to hide the fact that you're upset because you died"

"But I want to be with my mommy and daddy" the boy started to cry and he hugged Nico that surprised the hades out of him.

Reluctantly, he wrapped his arm around the tiny frame of the boy as his other hand was rubbing the boy's back soothingly.

Another purpose that hadn't been fulfilled. . .

"I know how much you love your mommy and daddy" Nico started comfortingly "And I also know for a fact that they're thinking that you are happy now so you really should do that. If they know that you are upset, they'll get upset too. You don't want that them to get upset right? Because even back in earth, you were hiding the fact that you were in pain so you wouldn't see your parents sad and upset"

The boy pulled away from Nico and he stared at the death angel wide eyed.

Nico raised his right hand "On death angel's honor, I solemnly swear that you are going to be happy in the paradise"

That made the little boy smiled and nodded determinedly. Nico ruffled the boy's hair and stood up. He waited until the little boy reached the end of the queue then he left. He was going to start walking away when he froze as he looked ahead. Nico's face hardened.

Not from afar, Charon was standing in his pristine Italian suit. Nico would have praised his choice of suit if they were on good terms which was not, all death angels didn't like him. Charon has a chocolate brown skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He also wore a tortoiseshell shades. He was the head of the death angels but he was always negligent on his job. He did nothing except to stress over on what suit to wear on a daily basis and complained how underpaid he was.

But the thing was, Charon seldom came to the DOA Recording Studio. He hated the agitated souls of the studio so he was always at his office in the underworld. If Charon came all the way here, something was up and Nico had a terrible feeling that _something_ has to do about him.

Charon strode towards him. He was smiling but the smile was menacing like his smile knew something that will put you in trouble.

"Well, that was interesting" Charon greeted "What you did to that little boy, I was watching from afar"

"Since when did you become interested in death angel's job, you did not care about us anyway" Nico said coldly

"It get's interesting, when you are in there Nico di Angelo." Charon answered "I may be down in the underworld but some interesting gossips also traveled there so I came here to check myself if it was true. And from what I watched earlier, I couldn't help but to start to agree to those gossips"

Nico fisted his hands, his knuckles turned white "What gossip?"

"An advice from your superior, stop being too involved with mortals, especially to that mortal William Solace, if you don't want to regret it in the end" Charon said

Nico's jaw clenched.

"Let's see" Charon looked around, hands clasped behind him "The last time I came here at DOA Recording Studio was to give the same advice to a death angel named Sierra and that was long before you became a death angel di Angelo."

"But of course" Charon continued "She never listened and I have the feeling that you would do the same thing"

Nico's face remained impassive "Why are you telling me this? I have done nothing wrong, it's not like it's a sin talking to someone who was a clear sighted"

"Done nothing wrong _yet._ And I might add, you also have an interesting choice of mortal _to talk_ with. I could say that mortal was one of a kind. But you know what" Charon moved closely to Nico and leaned forward. Nico was unyielding "I would love to hear an official report that you're breaking the rules, di Angelo. Oh! I would love to cross off another name on the list of death angels. Who knew, if there will be fewer death angels, the pay might start to increase. So if I were you, I will be real careful if you don't want to end up on the same place that Sierra landed on"

Charon stepped back and looked at Nico from head to toe "My, my, the fierceness of a death angel was starting to fade in you and you're starting to look more. . . human."

Charon strolled past Nico whistling as if nothing happened. When Nico looked back at the direction that Charon had gone to, he was gone.

 _Purpose._

Nico vanished in black smoke. He reappeared on Will's bed in his apartment. Since Will was still at the hospital, it was pitch black in his room. The only light was coming from the window. Lights from the building in front, and from the cars and lamp posts below.

Nico fell back on the bed. He put his arm over his eyes. His next soul was due in the morning so he'll just put into sleep the tenseness he felt.

Nico stirred when he felt something heavy on his side. He opened his eyes and flinched from the harsh light coming from the window. This time the light was coming from the sun that illuminated the whole room. He looked down to see a tanned arm draped across his stomach and when he turned his head to the side, Will's sleeping face greeted him.

Nico did not move. He put his arm under his head and looked up at the ceiling. How could he turn away to the man lying beside him now? How could he turn away to the euphoric feeling of finding a purpose of your existence as if you were living again?

That's right, he has a purpose now and that was to stay beside someone you love the most. Everyone in this world was doing that now so Nico decide to do the same thing.

Nico closed his eyes.

It was good to _live_ again.

Even if _living_ will mark the days of his existence in both earth and underworld.

Who said he's going to regret it. He's going to regret it more if he did not grab this chance.

He might have lied to Will about the trouble being with him.

But he does not care about it anymore.

After all, it was all worth it.

* * *

 **Hello people! An update for the month of September. How's everyone doing?**

 **Please review!**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	17. XVI - NICO

**XVI**

 **NICO**

"I told you to stay away from Will Solace! Why can't you just do that?" Bianca fumed at Nico

Nico groaned. Here we go again, with this topic.

"And I told you that I won't! How many times do we need to have this conversation just for you to understand that Will means no harm! He's just a . . . _friend."_

Bianca narrowed her eyes on him and her hands were on her hips as if not believing what he had just said. But Nico can be convincing _sometimes_ , he just hoped that his impassive look can be really persuading because he was doing a lot of lying these past few days and a very impressive I-did-not-do-anything-wrong-like-breaking-a-rule-or-something look would be really helpful especially in front of his sister who knows him better than anyone in the _underworld._

"A friend?" Bianca scoffed "He is not good for you! He's a trouble"

 _Oh yes, an endearing and gorgeous trouble._ Nico thought

"How can he be a trouble when all he does is to heal people?" Nico argued

"Don't be fooled, Nico. Humans can be tricky."

"Uh-huh"

"They can be selfish and uncaring!"

"Um . . ."

Bianca faced Nico, eyes blazing "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Of course, I do believe you, we've been on earth far too long to see what humans can do but don't generalize them as a whole bunch of evils walking on earth, maybe most of them are but not all of them!"

"Why do you keep on defending them if you just know what. . ." Bianca trailed off

Nico took a deep breath "Yeah, I know. I remembered what they did to us. . ."

Bianca gasped "You remembered? Since when? And why didn't you tell me about it?"

Nico shrugged "Months ago? Besides it's not something that needs to be talked about. It's not like you want to talk about how you died. . ."

"Oh, Nico" Suddenly, Bianca was in front of him hugging him. Nico hugged her back.

"Thank you, Bianca" Nico whispered "Thank you for saving me back then"

"Nico, I am your sister and it's my duty to look after you. You don't have to thank me for it. I just did what I have to do" Bianca whispered back

After a moment, Bianca was the first one to pull away. She looked at him, frowning "Then, if you remembered, w-why do you care about humans? You don't even-"

"Yes, I don't belong up there!" Nico pointed upward with his index finger because as of the moment, they were both in the underworld "Because I'm part of the dead now" _Yep, you don't have to remind me how different I am._ Nico wanted to add but smartly decided not to "But the thing is, we died a long time ago and maybe a lot of things had change. . . There is a reason why most of us, death angels don't remember how we die, maybe because that way, we don't have to linger on things like regret or grudges. And for whatever reason that we remembered, I don't like it to affect me now because who cares, it won't change the fact that we are dead"

Bianca stared at him like he said something impossible. For one panicky moment, Nico tried to recall what other things he had said like blurting out that he was in love with a certain doctor, or he's breaking rules-

"All right" Bianca exhaled "But I still don't like that Solace guy. Please, if you could, just stay away from him. I don't like you hanging around with him" Just like that, Bianca vanished into thin black smoke

"Too late for that, sister" Nico whispered

* * *

"Bob, do you think how long I could hold out before I face the wrath of the underworld?" Nico asked. They were sitting on a branch of a tree overlooking the great lawn of the Central Park.

On the Great lawn, people were scattered sitting on their blankets and enjoying the last rays of the sun since fall is coming.

Bob looked down at him from the book he was reading. He was sitting on a higher and bigger branch and he was leaning back at the trunk. Bob stared at Nico for a long time before he responded.

"So you have decided that Will was worth the trouble huh" Bob looked back at his book, flipping the next page of it.

"Yes"

"Judging from it, you'll manage to be in one peace for weeks depending on how great your acting skills are or it can be shorter until the furies tear you apart for eternity" Bob answered casually as if he's talking about the latest trends from a magazine.

"The thing is. . ." Bob continued "Are you prepared for it? For the consequences?"

Nico gazed wistfully at the people on the lawn. When he spoke, his voice was far away "I must have so much regrets when I was alive if I wanted this bad to experience to be like them. . ."

"And you are willing to experience eternal damnation for just a moment of _living_ " Bob added

Nico chuckled without humor "I do have a weird sense of logic these past few days"

* * *

The next day, Nico was standing at the heliport of JHH, a few feet away from Will Solace whose back was facing him. The doctor was safely standing near the edge of the heliport watching the rising sun. As if sensing the death angel watching his back, Will turned to him and smiled. Nico's breathing hitched and his eyes widen a little bit. Since Will's whole body was now against the sun, his body seemed to glow because of the sunlight. Will's long lab coat and blond hair was billowing from the wind. Nico suddenly missed Will's glowing trick. The doctor never used it anymore these past few days so seeing Will like that felt like the first time all over again. The blond beckoned Nico to come to him, Will's arm was outstretched to him and Nico walked towards him almost in dazed.

"Here" Will held Nico's hand "Let's see if you still don't appreciate the beauty of Mr. Sun"

They stand side by side, watching the city bathed with the glorious brightness of the sun from the horizon. After a moment, Nico looked up at Will. His pale blue eyes was brighter under the light of the sun and Nico secretly adored it more. Will raised an eyebrow at him.

"How will you appreciate the sun if you are looking the wrong way" Will said

"No. I think I was starting to get it" Nico said still staring at Will

"What?"

"The fuss about the bright ball of hot gas"

Will laughed

Nico looked back at the horizon as Will's hand tightened on his hand. Yep, he was definitely starting to get it. It's not just the sun but also everything in that moment.

After watching the sunrise, Nico was at the lobby waiting for Will to get his things so they can go home. While waiting Nico was in the revolving door, walking in circles. He was looking up and wondering if he will get dizzy going round and round _if_ he was just a human. Then he frowned, what was dizziness felt like? He forgot. He never felt dizzy for decades.

"What in Hades are you doing?"

Nico paused and looked at the direction of the voice. Will was standing not from afar in faded rip jeans and SURF BARBADOS shirt. His backpack slung on his shoulder. The doctor was looking amusedly at Nico.

Nico shrugged and walked towards the doctor. He said " My way of killing time. Come on." He held Will's hand.

"You have a strange way of killing time, di Angelo" Will shook his head smiling

"Humor me" Nico said and they started to walk out of the hospital. They reached the revolving door and Nico pushed it, then they were gone even before they reached the other side. The revolving door left spinning.

Will found himself face planted on the pillow of his bed. He turned his head to the side so his cheek was pressing on the pillow. He looked up at Nico who sat at the edge of his bed and removed his shoes.

"This is really unfair you know" Will said sitting up and dumping his bag on the side of the bed "Why am I the only one who is always landing on a wrong position every time we are going _poof_ " He made a hand gesture

"Now, you develop a new vocabulary about shadow travelling. Besides, it's not my fault if you are always landing on a wrong position. You must anticipate the landing of your feet on a concrete floor every time we are going to appear" Nico stated

"You only told me this now, how am I supposed to know that?" Will shot back

Nico shrugged "What, it's amusing or rather than entertaining watching you materialized on different positions every time we shadow travel-ack"

Nico never finished his sentence when Will tackled him. Nico landed on his back on the bed while Will was on top of him.

"What did you say?" Will playfully narrow his eyes on him

"That you are handsome?" Nico asked

"I think that's not what I heard" Will whispered on Nico's ear. He proceeded on planting soft kisses on the death angel's jaw down to his neck. Then the blond nipped and sucked hard a certain spot on Nico's neck that caused him to moan.

"This is another unfairness of you" Will looked at Nico "You never developed a hickey!"

Nico shrugged again "Perks of being immortal" He raised his head to kiss Will but Will pushed Nico's head back using the tip of his index finger pressing on the death angel's forehead.

"Because I am an entertaining person, no kissing" Will said

Nico's mouth hang open "You're kidding, right?"

"Unfortunately, I am not" Will stood up. He walked towards his closet and opened it.

Meanwhile, Nico propped his elbow on the bed and looked at the blond, still mouth hanging open like a fish. He contemplated on how serious Will was on his statement. He watched as Will removed his t-shirt over his head revealing a tan back muscles flexing as Will moved. The blond also removed his jeans showing his boxers and a very fine round ass. Nico gulped.

"You're such a tease!" Nico growled at him. Will laughed putting a fresh white t-shirt and shorts.

Will faced him "No I am not, just an entertaining person" He put the clothes he removed in the laundry basket nearby

"You are not going to let this down, aren't you?" Nico asked sitting up

"Nope-That's right" Will snapped his fingers "I've been meaning to ask you, I just kept on forgetting it, but you said that we are going to talk about the do's and don'ts of dating a death angel.

"Are we?" Nico frowned at him

"Yes" Will sat beside him "I wanted to know our limits, you know"

"There's nothing much to it, anyway" Nico looked away, starting to feel uncomfortable about the topic

"I still wanted to know. Are there any rules or something we need to obey aside from keeping our relationship secret?" Will insisted

Nico stiffened but immediately recomposed himself "Aside from that, we can do mostly what we want to do."

Will frowned "I was thinking, you said our relationship is pretty complicated on your side. Is there, perhaps, a way to fix this in the underworld, like asking permission on someone-"

"No!" Nico whipped his head on Will, then he cleared his throat "I mean, you cannot tell anyone about us to any death angels"

Will remained silent but still frowning

"I'm sorry" Nico looked down at his lap "I apologize if I couldn't give you a normal relationship like everyone else. . ."

"Hey" Will held Nico's hand and Nico looked up at him. Will was regarding him softly "It's all right, just processing all that stuff, you know this is my first time dating a death angel-"

"Me too, dating a human" Nico mumbled

Will laughed "Well, yeah, but I wanted you to know that I am totally okay with our arrangement. I understand. If you want us to be in a secret relationship, that's fine. I know there will be consequences when I chose to be with you and I am willing to face them all"

"Thank you, for understanding." Nico smiled

Will just squeezed his hand

"Is there anything else, I need to know?" Will asked "About your rules?"

Nico shook his head

"So aside from being in a secret relationship, we can do mostly everything" Will said

"Yes.. "

"Everything huh"

Nico nodded wondering where this conversation is going

"Everything, so that also includes sex"

Nico choked on his own saliva. His face felt hot, all of a sudden "W-Will!"

Will burst out laughing, clutching his stomach with both hands "Oh my gods, you looked hilarious!"

Nico was glaring at him. Will sobered up but one look at Nico's flustered face while still glaring had him laughing again.

"Fine. Laugh all you want" Nico huffed

"Aww, he's angry" Will chuckled. He took a deep breath and turned serious "You know, I was just kidding right? I won't force you on something you are not prepared of since technically you born on a different era"

"You don't even want to kiss me" Nico grumbled

"Aha! Crawling your way in, Mister" Will said wiggling his eyebrows "But no, still no kissing" He stood up and headed for the door

"For how long?" Nico asked

Will paused "Maybe for a week?"

"Can you resist me for that long?"

"Damn, di Angelo. Your flirting skills are improving" Then Will smirked "Let's see" he opened the door and headed out, he closed the door behind.

Nico shook his head smiling and followed Will outside. _Let's see, how long before Solace give up._ He thought. Two can play the game.

* * *

 **Thank you for waiting!**

 **Please review! Thanks a lot!**


	18. XVII - WILL

**XVII**

 **WILL**

"But Will-"

"Oh, come on!"

"I'm not used to it!"

"You don't have to be shy-"

"But-"

"It's just the two of us here, who will even see us?"

"I know but, it's my first time-"

"Yeah, already figured that out and I'm honored that you'd do it with me"

"It's awkward. I'm awkward"

"No, it's not, and you are not"

"Still-"

"For goodness' sake di Angelo! How hard it is to smile in front of a camera?!" Will threw his hands in frustration while holding his celphone on one hand

"But this is my first time taking a picture" Nico grumbled

They were sitting in the living room of Will's apartment and it's been half an hour since Will got the idea to have a picture of them together and it's been that long since the bloody persuasion took its place.

"Look, I know selfies isn't really a thing in the underworld" Will said "But it wasn't that hard really, all you need to do is to smile like what you'd been doing a lot lately"

"My smiling is an unconscious movement of my mouth, I don't even know that I am smiling sometimes!" Nico reasoned "So I think, I look awkward when I forced myself to smile"

"It's just what you think, I bet you never tried it!"

"I just know it, this is my body after all! And was it really necessary to have our picture taken?"

"Nico, this is what you call having fun and as of the moment you are being a kill-joy" Will rolled his eyes "Besides, pictures is a way of preserving the moment you cherished so. . ."

Nico was going to respond when there's a sudden familiar vibration on his chest. He fished out the pocket watch on the inside pocket of his aviator jacket.

"I have to go. I'll be back later" Nico said closing the watch and putting it back on his jacket's inside pocket.

Will sighed "Okay, see you later"

Nico was about to stand up when Will held his arms and pulled him down. Will said "Wait"

Nico gave him a confused look. But then, in a flash, all that Nico's mind comprehended was Will's lip on his cheek and the screen of the phone in front of their faces.

"GOTCHA!" Will exclaimed like he had won a jackpot on a lottery. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"What in Hades, Solace?" Nico asked slowly

"It's not that bad" Will nodded as he looked down at his celphone and he laughed "aww, Neeks, you look really surprised here. It looks adorable! Look" He held his phone to Nico, so Nico could see the screen.

Nico stared at the screen. There, his pale face looks completely off-guard. His dark-brown eyes were wide, his mouth was slightly parted open and he looked completely flustered while Will's eyes were closed and his lips were on Nico's cheek.

"I'm just going to be contended with this one, until you learn how to smile at the camera" Will said looking down again at his phone "I think I need to print this one so I can put this somewhere. . ."

Nico stared at Will "I am not adorable"

"What?" Will looked at him

"I said I am not adorable, death angels aren't supposed to be adorable"

This made Will laughed "Oh, love, yes you are, you just have to get out of your dark brooding look! Now, off you go. A soul is waiting for you and we wouldn't want him wandering around, would we?" This time, he pushed Nico to stand up

"I am not adorable" Nico grumbled as he stood up

"Shoo! Do your job most adorable death angel I've ever met"

"No, I am not adorable" Nico continued to grumble as he vanished in black smoke

* * *

Will was humming as he strolled through the hall of JHH, some colleagues and nurses greeted him along the way. He was thinking how man cups of coffee he had drunk before his shift because he felt like he could do a dozen surgeries without getting tired. He felt buoyant as if his feet wasn't even touching the ground as he walked, as if he was floating- Oh, gods no. Is this what everyone tells about being in love? Like you are on a cloud nine or something? Will internally flinched. He sounded like a high school student with his first love. But the thing is, he never felt this way with the previous guys he dated on a serious level, which amounted only to a two people.

It felt like this time, everything is different, a good different. Yes, when it came to Nico di Angelo, it was always a whole new level. True, he was an awkward guy at some point but he can be sweet in his own way. And even though, Will was new on this kind of secret relationship with a death angel, he felt contented about it and it felt like everything was just in their right places.

He was pulled out from his reverie when he heard a shout. He paused in an intersection and looked at his side. He saw not from afar, a man who seemed to be arguing to a doctor and that doctor happened to be Kayla.

"Who are you to say when a man's life is going to be over?!" the man shouted at Kayla "You are not a god"

"Sir calm down" Kayla said placidly "I was just stating the possible outcomes from your wife's disease"

"You are a doctor and you can't even cure her?"

Will decided to come over since the argument became more heated and that man was angry. It can be dangerous when a person becomes blinded by anger.

"Sir, as I have said, the tissue build up had spread all over her pancreas that it was hard to remove all of them, not even a surgery would do. Soon, her organs will fail-"She never finished her sentence when the man pushed her to the wall

"Hey!" In an instant Will was on Kayla's side supporting her. He looked at the man "Sir, with all due respect, you can't just hit someone, especially a girl!"

"And who are you? Get out of the way, I was not yet done talking to this quack doctor who can't even cure her patients" the man seethed

"Sir, this doctor was trying her best to help your wife and as you have said she isn't a god who can perform some miracle and there are things that are beyond our control"

The man punched Will but he immediately deflected it and pushed Kayla out of the way

"Sir-" this time Will wasn't lucky enough and received the second punch from the man. The man was bigger than Will, like a bouncer in a bar so the force of punch almost made Will passed out, his brain seemed to rattle inside his head. Will staggered backward.

The man turned around and his attention was back on Kayla. He was going to go after the man despite his blurring vision when someone beat him to it.

It was Nico. Nico pushed the man to the wall holding the man's collar. The size and height difference didn't seem to bother Nico. In fact, Nico seemed to be more intimidating than the man. Will managed to come towards Kayla.

"Hey, you okay?" Will asked

"I was not the one who got punched, I should be the one who's asking you that!" Kayla exclaimed

"I'm fine-"

They heard a grunt, when they turned around; the man was lying on the floor groaning. Nico was standing over him.

"Nico!" Will shouted

Thankfully, Dr. Lee Fletcher came with security in tow. The security carried the man away who was still groaning.

"Is anyone else here who got hurt?" Dr. Fletcher asked

"Will got punched-"

"I'm fine, I just need an ice bag" Will interrupted Kayla

"Are you sure? Don't you want an MRI scanning for your head?" Fletcher raised an eyebrow

"You're overreacting. I've got a hard skull so I'm good. Just check the man instead" Will shooed him away

"All right, Doc Knowles, I'm leaving everything to you"

"Yep, got it covered" Kayla answered and Fletcher jogged away

* * *

"Ow.." Will grimaced as his face made contact with the ice bag. They were in their office since Will refused to be in the emergency room. Nico was the one who was holding the ice bag. Will noticed that he was eerily silent since the fight with the man earlier.

"Here's the pain killer" Kayla put down a bottle of tablet medicine on the table. She asked worriedly "Are you sure, you all right? You might have a concussion. Is your head still aching?"

"For a hundredth time, Kayla, I'm all right. My head throbbed a little bit but I think it will pass, once I drink some painkiller –ow! Not too hard, di Angelo"

Nico made no response

"As I was saying, don't worry, I'll notify you right away when I started to feel extreme dizziness or headache"

"Okay" Kayla exhaled "I apologize for what happened earlier, in behalf of Fred, the man who hit you. Obviously he's distressed when he found out that his beloved wife has few weeks to live"

"What was his wife illness?" Will asked flinching again

"Acute pancreatitis with pseudocyst" Kayla said"We did the endoscopic ultrasound and the tissue and fluid build up is so severe, her spleen might have been dissolved because of it. Anyway, Thanks for being my knight and shining armor earlier, Willie. To be honest, I was also kind of terrified of that man. He looked like incredible hulk"

"Wow, here I was thinking that nothing scares you" Will joked

"Shut up. And Nico thanks also for coming to our rescue" Kayla said

Nico just nodded

"I'll leave you two here, just going to check Fred and his wife" Kayla said and headed out the office.

When the door closed behind Kayla, Nico stood up and went to the water dispenser. He got a glass and filled it with water. He put down the glass to the table, in front of Will.

"You are strangely quiet" Will said opening the bottle of painkiller and tapping it down as a tablet went down on his palm. He drank the medicine and swallowed it down with water.

"He hurt you" Nico said quietly

"Well, yeah and I was totally sure that the side of my face is going to look like an eggplant hopefully it won't swell-" Will noticed that Nico's fist was shaking over the table.

"I was so angry at him that I thought, I could have killed him" Nico closed his eyes

"No, you won't" Will said softly, prying Nico's fist to open, then he held Nico's hand

"Take a deep breath, Nico" Will said

Nico obliged

"Then look at me"

It took a moment before Nico reluctantly opened his eyes to look at Will. There was still a blaze in Nico's eyes that would surely terrify anyone who dare him.

"You'll leave him alone, okay?" Will said sternly "I'm fine, all of us are and that's all that matters"

Nico did not respond

"Nico"

Nico exhaled "Yeah, I will, I've got no choice and even if I want to, I can't. We are bound by our sacred rules-" Nico paused

"Sacred rules?" Will asked. He was deeply aware how Nico had stiffened. He always noticed how Nico would be uncomfortable or just stiffened when rules are going to mention

Nico seemed to contemplate what to say, then he explained quietly as if someone would eavesdropped their conversation "We've got a lot of rules in the underworld but the Sacred Rules are the supreme rules that the death angels should obey. Usually, when we disobey some rules we got second chances and the High Council will decide what punishment to give to us but if we break the Sacred Rules there are no chances and judgement. We'll go straight to the field of punishment and experience eternal damnation"

"Oh. . ." Will frowned, still sinking into his head the idea of their Sacred Rules "So what are those Sacred Rules?"

"We. . ." Nico began, it looked like he was having a hard time to get the words out "The Sacred Rules composed of only. . . two rules. First, is Do not interfere with the Fates. Meaning, we cannot change what was about to happen because things should happen the way they are. And secondly, Do not take the soul of the Living, only the dead. Obviously, I cannot just kill people. I can't even inflict too much damage to a human that they will be on the brink of dying or suffer permanent damage. So yeah, as much as I want to kill or cripple that bastard who hit you, I can't. "

"Hell yeah, you won't!" Will said "Or else, I am the one who will personally send you to the underworld for punishment"

Nico smiled a little bit

"There, you are smiling again. I like that" Will said smiling too, then his phone vibrated on his lab coat's pocket. He fished it out and answered it "Hello? Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be there" Will hang up and looked at Nico "I was paged to the Emergency. I need to go"

"Are you all right now?" Nico frowned

"Yep. The painkillers worked" Then he stood up. He was glad that he no longer felt dizzy and his head stopped throbbing.

"Okay" Nico said "Go"

Will reached the entrance of the Emergency room and was greeted by two police officers he knew too well.

"Percy? Jason? What are you doing here?" Will asked surprised

"Whoa, doc" Percy said "It looked like you've been punched by Muhammad Ali"

"Yeah, I got punched but not by Muhammad Ali. What are you doing here?"

"We brought you some patient" Jason said pointing to the corner of the emergency where doctors were gathered. Will immediately went there

There, he saw an unconscious boy lying in the cot covered in blood and knife sticking out to his chest. The doctors are doing their best to control the bleeding. The boy seemed to be young appearing to be 18 years or younger, his skin was burnished bronze and his hair was in cornrows.

"Let me see, the chest x-ray" Will said. Lou, the nurse handed the film to him and he raised it to the x-ray illuminator nearby. Another doctor namely, Dr Tim Alistair was checking the patient's pupil with his small flashlight.

"The knife narrowly missed the heart but it still punctured the right lung" Will observed looking at the film

"According to the police officers, he got into a fight with a criminal they were chasing" Lou said behind him "He got stabbed and he got hit by a baseball bat in the head"

"Yeah, a pretty big hit in the head because I believed he got a cerebral hemorrhage." Dr. Alistair said

"Arrange the OR, and get a supply from the blood bank." Will ordered "This is going to be bloody"

Will exited the emergency to prepare for the surgery. Percy and Jason were still there

"How is he?" Percy asked

"He lost a lot of blood and he's going into a surgery. Let's just hope that he survive that" Will said

"Please do everything you need to save him. We need him alive" Jason said

Will had questions but those can wait later, saving the boy was the priority first

"We'll do everything we can" Will said and left the two officers.

After an extensive surgery with the boy, fortunately the boy survived it. Will walked out the operating room pulling out his scrub cap. As he expected, Jason and Percy were there waiting for him.

"Is that boy don't have any parents?" Will asked

"Nope, not even relatives we can contact" Jason said

"How is he?" Percy asked

"He's fine now. We moved him to the ICU for the time being. Now, who is this boy?" Will said

"His name is Austin Lake, 18 years old. As of the moment, He is our primary witness to the whereabouts of the syndicate we are chasing so far. And we believe that the one who stabbed him was the leader of that syndicate" Percy answered

"But how on earth did he get involved in that syndicate?" Will asked

"His girlfriend was working for them. We believed that they were trying to run away from them but _that_ happened. As for her girlfriend, the syndicate took her. Unfortunately we failed to catch them, we got ambushed. But we won't stop until they were all behind the bars" This time Jason answered

"We are going to assign some cops around to protect him, just in case" Jason added

"All right" Will nodded "Do what you must do"

* * *

 **Do you think I should change the rating to M? because of the recent content or it was just okay to be on T rating? I honestly can't decide. I am not sure as of the moment if there will be other scenes like that, but I was aiming mostly on not so gruesome story.**

 **Anyway, i updated fast, because I am on break. Hopefully, the next update will be fast too *cross fingers***

 **Thank you for reviewing and subscribing to the story! keep it up, i like reading what you think on this story.**

 **Thanks for reading and review!**

 **_Nikki**


	19. XVIII - NICO

**XVIII**

 **NICO**

Once upon a time in Nico's long, dull and monotonous life, he once came across with this head-scratching distraction in a form of human named William Solace who soon became a mystery to Nico, that the death angel constantly thought that the blond doctor was surrounded with a lot of _why's_. Why Will likes this one. . . Why Will's laugh sounded like the best he had yet heard in the entire universe (both underworld and earth). Why Will's blue eyes is so bright and looked so cheerful. Why Will's grin could melt his anger and foul mood. Why.. –Okay that should stop because the list goes on and on and that will take who-knows-how many pages. Later on, he realized that Will Solace isn't really a mystery that needs to be solved, because the truth is, Nico was just _fascinated_ with that guy. He mistakenly thought his fascination for a mystery. But, what does he know back then?

Since then, his fascination turned into something bigger in what he knows now as _love._ He just loves the guy. And yep that was pretty much everything if you'd put it simply. _Simple._ How Nico wished that everything was just _simple._

Bob had warned him once, that he should never ever utter the words _I love you_ to Will or his life is over.

Yes, simple. He loves Will Solace but he can't even say that out loud to him.

Bob said that those words are like a trigger, evidence, and sign that Nico broke the last Sacred Rule. Words have power and that is the proof how powerful words can be. Bob Iapetus told him that's how the old death angel Sierra was caught; she was clueless about it so she carelessly said how much she loves her man then BAM! She was facing the wrath of Lord Hades.

Nico knew that he will suffered the same thing in the future. For how long? He have no idea but for now, he wanted to prolong his time with Will as much as possible. Even if it means not expressing how he feels into spoken words. Pretty cold and selfish but what can he do?

"Aren't you going home?" Nico said to Will as he leaned on the side of a shelf.

Will yelped in surprise and turned around from his seat to face Nico. They were in the office and Will was working on something on his laptop before Nico had _surprised_ him.

Nico raised his eyebrow "This is the first time I've seen you startled because of me"

Will exhaled "Well yeah, I was deep in thought and I didn't sense you earlier. . . "

Nico's eyebrow shot up higher "You can sense me?"

Will nodded

"How?"

Will shrugged "I don't know. I just know when you are around" Then he laughed "Is that creepy?"

"It didn't even pass on my standards of creepiness" Nico said "But anyway, it's already late in the morning, aren't you going home?"

"My, you're really a punctual chaperone"

"Chaperone?" Nico snorted "Don't get used to it"

"Why not?"

 _Because I may not be here sooner or later. No._ Nico chided himself.

"Hey, you okay?" Will frowned at him

"Uh, yeah. Sure"

"I'll just pack up my things and check Austin first then we can go home" Will said

* * *

"He'll pass the critical point once the edema goes down" Dr. Alistair said

Nico was in the corner of the ICU while he listened to Will and the other doctor, Dr. Alistair discussed the condition of the patient. He stared at the patient. The patient looked young and yes, he was still in the critical point because Nico could see a thick black aura like smoke around the patient . The aura of death.

"I'm concerned about the bleeding" Will said "It was severe"

"There's also a possibility of sepsis" Dr. Alistair added

Will sighed "Let's just hope for the best"

Then Will squeezed lightly the arm of the patient. Nico stood straighter. Will faintly glowed. It was dim but Nico could see it. Then the glow was gone.

"Are you using your glowing trick again?" Nico asked when Dr. Alistair headed out the ICU

"What? No" Will looked surprised

"But you just glowed. It was very faint but I did see it" Nico said

"I-I did?" Will looked down at his own palm "I don't know. I wasn't even aware that I was glowing. Maybe my subconscious was acting up, I really wanted this kid to live" He gazed at the patient lying in the bed. He looked like he was just sleeping, if not for the tubes hooked to his body.

"Do you know him?" Nico asked

"Nope but he was an orphan and I was guessing that he got a very tough life" Will answered

"I saw some cops patrolling around this room. Is he a criminal?" Nico asked again

"No. they're protecting him. Austin is there star witness about a syndicate case and the syndicate might be after him"

"Keep an eye on him. The aura of death around him is thick" Nico advised

"Sure. Thanks" Will said

"But if you will just use your-"

"Nico, we've discussed it. My answer won't change" Will waved his hand dismissively to end the topic "Let's just go home, okay?"

* * *

"Yes! I did it!" Will said gleefully and punched the air. Nico just shook his head in amusement.

They were standing in the living room of Will's apartment. Will was gleeful to the fact that they appeared to the living room from their shadow travelling and the blond remained standing instead of face planted to the ground.

"Congratulations, Solace" Nico clapped his hands then he froze.

Will froze too when his eyes landed on the kitchen. Nico stiffly turned his head to where Will was looking. There, by the counter, Bianca di Angelo was standing holding a picture frame. Bianca's eyes were wide as if in shock. Her eyes were locked unto the latter two. There was a tense silence. Then the shock turned into rage. She looked at Nico steely and eyes burning then she disappeared, leaving the picture frame falling to the ground.

Nico materialized in the kitchen and caught the frame seconds before it hit the ground. He looked at the picture frame. It was their picture together with Will Solace kissing him in the cheek. Nico exhaled sharply.

"N-Nico?"

Nico glanced at Will, who gave him a questioning look? And there's also something beside that questioning look, it was fear. As if the blond could sense that something is wrong. . . Nico set down the frame in the counter.

"I'll be right back" Nico said then vanished even before Will could speak again

There was this place that Bianca liked to go when she was bored, it was a junkyard place. Way out of Manhattan. Bianca liked to look for interesting things in that junkyard like she was hunting for treasures. Nico suspected that she's going to be there. When he materialized at the top of mound of old appliances, his suspicion was right. Bianca was standing not from a far. Nico vanished again and reappeared meters away behind Bianca. He couldn't move closer because he felt like his sister was an active nuclear bomb ready to explode as of the moment.

"Bianca-"

A piece of big scrap metal hurled towards Nico and Nico dodged it with ease. Another one came, Nico couldn't dodge it in time so he vanished and reappeared on the same spot when the big scrap sailed over.

"Are you done-"

Then a rusty old car flew in his direction, Nico vanished again and materialized at the roof of that car when it landed upright.

Nico waited for the next flying things to hurl at him but after a moment nothing came. Bianca still stood there back facing him.

"I wish I could say sorry for what I've done but I don't regret it" Nico began "I'm ready for the consequences"

Finally, Bianca turned around to face him. If Nico was correct, Bianca had done a great job of masking her fury.

"Does that jerk know what will happen to you if the council found out?" Bianca asked coldly

"Will is not a jerk and no he doesn't know. _Please_ don't tell him" Nico said

Bianca exhaled

"Will makes me happy" Nico blurted out "and I never thought of happiness since forever and maybe even back then when I was alive"

"Do you love him?" Bianca's straightforwardness knocks the breath out of Nico

"Yes"

Bianca let loose a guttural scream. Waves of darkness were coiling around her. Scraps and junks around her rattled and snapped. For one moment, Nico was worried that Bianca would explode like a supernova.

"MORTALS ARE DOING IT AGAIN!" Bianca screamed "THEY'RE GOING TO HURT YOU AGAIN. AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S WORSE? I COULDN'T SAVE YOU THIS TIME!"

"Bianca stop it!" Nico appeared at her side and he almost passed out when those waves hit him. They are painful. Despite the pain, Nico hugged his sister from behind.

"Please Bianca, stop it" Nico croaked

Fortunately, the darkness dissipated and the scraps around them stopped trembling. Bianca was heaving.

"Will means no harm" Nico whispered "He just loves me back and I like that feeling so much. That it's all worth it to be eternally punished"

"What are you saying?" Bianca said weakly and slid to the ground. Nico caught her. She looked at him "What have you done Nico?"

"I just did what I wanted to do for a very long time, to love and to be loved"

"Nico you don't know-"

"Oh yes, I know what will happen and I know what I am getting myself into but it doesn't matter anymore-"

"WAKE UP NICO!" Bianca held him at the shoulders and shook him "Do you hear yourself? You are being delusional. You cannot be with Will because he is a mortal and you are not"

Nico couldn't hide his hurt "I know. So what? So what if he's a mortal? So what if I am already dead? I don't care about the difference anymore. I have chosen this and I'm sorry Bianca there's nothing you can do to stop me" Nico stepped away from Bianca "And please, I never asked you for anything, just this once. Don't tell Will" Then he vanished.

He reappeared in the underworld, in Hades' Palace. He was looking for someone.

"Bob! Where are you?" He roamed around the palace trying to find his friend. When he realized that he wasn't there. He disappeared again. This time he appeared in the DOA Studios

"Bob!"

Souls and some of the death angels looked at his direction after a moment, they're all back in their own business

"In here! Who's calling?" That was no doubt, Bob's voice.

"Where are you?" Nico looked around

"Here" Bob appeared next to him

"Bob" Nico held his arm "I need to ask you something"

"What is it?"

Later that day, Nico sat in the fire escape alone, holding a piece of paper and a pen. The idea struck him suddenly while talking to Bianca. Technically, he couldn't tell verbally and directly how much he loves Will but it doesn't mean Nico couldn't tell him how he feel through written words. There are no rules about those as Bob had confirmed it.

So Nico wrote everything, everything he wanted to tell Will. It was an old fashion thing but Nico wanted Will to know how much the blond means to him before everything is too late.

* * *

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	20. XIX - WILL

**XIX**

 **WILL**

Will couldn't shake the idea that something was wrong. He could see it on how Bianca looked when she saw the picture frame, how Nico acted so strangely about it and how those siblings looked into each other as if some unspoken message had passed between the two. And Will was having this strange gut feeling that whatever that _message_ was, he won't like it. Sure. Bianca hated the Hades out of him, but is that all? Or there's something more to it? He badly wanted to ask Nico about it but he never came back yesterday after he left and Will hadn't seen Nico even today yet.

"You've been staring far too long on that chart. Are you having a hard time coming up with a prognosis on that patient Doctor?"

Will turned to his side and saw his fellow doctor and friend, Dr. Kayla Knowles leaning on the counter as she looked up at him.

Will sighed "It's nothing. Just spacing out"

Kayla nodded "Yes. Spacing out in the Nico di Angelo universe"

Some doctors and nurses, including Lou snickered.

"Oh Shut it" Will glared at them all. He could swear that his ears were beet red. He closed the chart. "Nurse Lou, please update the lab if the blood work of Ms. Portman is out. I need to see it. Stat."

"You got it, Doc" Lou said

Will turned around and walked away. Kayla followed him.

"So I was right, wasn't I? Thinking of lover boy di Angelo?" Kayla grinned and nudged him with her elbow

"Knock it off, Knowles" Will said

Kayla pouted "Of all relationship you had, you never talked about Nico and I was starting to think that you forgot that you still have your, you know, bestfriend here"

Will faced her "How could I forgot my best friend here if I always see you every night. Besides. . ." Will sighed "Let's just say that Nico was an extremely private person that he doesn't want people gossiping about his relationship"

"Well, it couldn't be helped. He's always here to walk you home which was very sweet of him and your colleagues can see that so it couldn't be helped if they talked about it. Besides. . ." Kayla's grin became wider like a cheshire cat "I've never seen you distracted at work because of someone"

Will just shook his head and looked ahead. He froze. Nico di Angelo just walked passed him. The death angel didn't seem to notice him.

Kayla nudged him again "Someone here got it pretty bad huh"

"Nico. . ." Will absentmindedly called

Kayla frowned at him "Huh? Nico is here?"

"Nico!" Will called a little bit louder and ran after the death angel

"Hey!" Kayla called after him. Then she scratched her head in confusion "Why would Nico be in the ICU? Is he going to visit someone? But then, it's not yet visiting hours. . ." She turned around, still baffled but she walked away

Will turned in the corner and found Nico standing there as if waiting for him. Will walked towards him.

"Hi" Nico greeted

"What happened? Is Bianca against us? Mad at us? I know she already hates me but-"

Nico put his index finger on Will lips silencing him "You talked too much. Don't worry about it. I've already fixed it"

Will swatted Nico's hand away "Fixed it? How? Are you sure everything's okay? Because I've felt like there's something more-"

This time Nico silenced him with a kiss.

Nico pulled away "Gods, Solace. Did I mention that you talk too much and worry too much? Everything's okay now and there's nothing to worry about"

Will blinked then shook his head "I was just. . afraid that you'll be gone. . . and I won't even know it. ."

"And where would I go?" Nico raised an eyebrow

"I don't know" Will mumbled then he pulled Nico into a hug "I love you"

"Yeah. . ."

Will frowned and pulled away. He looked at Nico "Is that the only thing you're gonna tell me? _Yeah?_ "

"Just remember Will, that in this world, you are the most important person to me now"

Will was going to speak when his phone vibrated on his lab coat's pocket. He fished his phone out and answered it "Hello? Dr. Solace speaking"

Will eyes widen a bit "Really? Okay I'll be there" He hung up and spoke to Nico " I have to go. Austin is awake"

Nico nodded "Go. See you later"

Will ran away. Thankfully, he was already at the ICU ward so he reached his destination quickly. When he reached Austin's room, there's already a nurse there.

He went to Austin's side. Austin eyes were barely open, still in dazed.

"Hey, buddy" Will said to Austin

Austin stared at Will. Then his eyes opened wider

"Can you hear me Austin? Blink your eyes if you hear me" Will said

Slowly, Austin blinked his eyes.

"Good job, buddy" Will smiled. Then he held Austin's hand, the one without IV tube.

"Now, Austin. I want you to squeeze my hand. Can you do it?" Will said again

Austin obliged, he squeezed Will's hand and the blond doctor was surprised on how much firm his squeeze was, for someone who had just woke up from a surgery. Will took it as a good sign.

Dr. Alistair came and checked Austin's pupils and Austin didn't let go of Will's hand. Will turned to the nurse "Now that he's conscious, attached the analgesia pump" The nurse nodded

Austin squeezed again Will's hand that caught the doctor's attention. He looked at Austin

"He was saying something" Dr. Alistair said

Will and Dr. Alistair leaned forward a little bit so they could hear Austin.

"Lyra. . ." Austin whispered

Dr. Alistair looked at Will "Who's Lyra?"

Then Will remembered what Percy had told him a while back. Lyra was Austin's girlfriend who got abducted by the syndicate and Austin has no idea about it.

"His girlfriend" Will answered then stared at Austin "Austin, Lyra is fine. She's safe. All you need to do at this moment is to rest and heal. Okay? So you can see your girlfriend again and you'll have your strength back. Do you understand me?"

Austin nodded then he let go of Will's hand

"How much blood came out?" Will asked Dr. Alistair

Dr. Alistair held out the catheter attached to Austin "20 cc per hour but it's decreasing. I don't think there's bleeding anymore"

Will nodded and smiled again. Soon, the two doctors headed out the ICU.

"It's a good sign that Austin was able to talk immediately after waking up" Dr. Alistair said as they walked through the hallway

"Yeah, and his grip was more firm. I think he'll recover immediately and we can move him to a regular room" Will answered

Dr. Alistair nodded "Yeah, let's hope so. I'll have to go. I need to attend some other patients"

"Sure"

Dr. Alistair clapped him in the back and left Will in the hallway. When he was already alone, Will's phone vibrated again and he answered it immediately. It was a call from the emergency room.

"Dr. Solace speaking"

He froze. Then he ran towards the emergency.

He was already panting when he reached the emergency, yet he wasn't prepared for the people he was going to see there.

"W-what?" Will tried to say something but failed as soon as he saw the people gathered in one area of the emergency

There are two people staring at him and standing on both sides of the cot. His father, Apollo Charleston and on the other side was Nico di Angelo. Lying on that cot unconsciously, was his mother, Naomi Solace.

* * *

 **okay, this was a bit rush chapters because i realized that i was falling behind if i wanted to finish the first part this year. But i did my best to make the chapters neat as much as possible. We are now entering the Naomi Solace Arc, the second to the last arc of Part 1. (*whispers to myself* yes, i'm getting there. I can do this)**

 **So as i was saying and will continue to say thank you for reading my lovely people and for subscribing to the story. it means a lot. :)**

 **Please review!**

 **_Nikki**


	21. XX -WILL

**XX**

 **WILL**

"Ms. Naomi Solace was diagnosed with an early stage of Lung cancer last March" Dr. Carter began. He was Naomi's doctor in Brooklyn and he graciously accepted Will's request to go in JHH so they could discuss Naomi's condition.

Will, Kayla and Dr. Carter were in Radiology reading room looking at the computer monitor where Naomi's CT scan of the lungs was displayed.

Will's hand formed into fist, his knuckles turning white. March. It had been that long since her mother was suffering from cancer and he has no idea about it. He couldn't help but to feel like a fraud. What a doctor he is if he didn't notice right away that something was wrong with her. He was there with her in Brooklyn almost every once in a month and he was blinded all about his mom's condition. Now, that made sense to him, the sudden paleness of Naomi, her thin structure and even the putting of glossy lipstick just to make her face livelier and hid the fact that she was sick.

"We immediately recommended for her to be hospitalized but she refused it and insisted on drinking some medications instead." Dr. Carter said

"Why on earth would she refused to be hospitalized" Kayla said

"Because she knew that I'll be coming home" Will whispered "She didn't want me to know. . ."

Kayla patted his shoulder "That's Naomi for you. She probably didn't want to burden you"

Will's jaw clenched in anger, anger that her mother never told her anything but most of that anger was directed to himself for being so ignorant all this time.

"Well. . ." Dr. Carter continued "Because of lack of enough medical attention, the cancer became progressive over time that I even begged her to go under radiotherapy if she didn't want to have side effects of it like losing hair or feeling ill. We even persuaded her to tell you what was happening. Of course, she flatly refused to tell you but she reluctantly agreed to do the radiotherapy last July. We did the first cycle and we were all hopeful about the result. Yet, when we did the scan, the tumor was starting to spread at the chest wall and diaphragm. Soon, it will reach the left heart chamber. Plus the fact that your mother developed an arrhythmia after doing radiotherapy is another risk factor. To be honest Dr. Solace, I was also concerned about your mother's heart. She's got a weak heart that we don't know if her heart can handle the spreading of tumor. . ."

"We can still do a surgery right?" Will said "Then we can go back on doing chemo or radiotherapy to prolong the life expectancy"

"Yes, surgery is still an option, but you know the risk of surgery, like hemorrhaging or ARDS worst, heart failure" Dr. Carter answered

"But if we didn't do it and proceed with the usual medication, there's still possibility of a cardiac arrest because of arrhythmia" Will said

"You are her guardian and you are a doctor too. We need your consent if we will do a surgery and we need your decision fast, before Ms. Solace's condition became inoperable" Dr. Carter said

* * *

Will found himself at the heliport. He didn't even remember how he got there. His body must have been into an auto-pilot mode. It happened sometimes, like when he was still a med student and his head was buzzing with a lot of medical terminologies, when he was still a resident and his brain was refusing to cooperate anymore because of exhaustion and when it felt like he was going to combust because of multiple surgeries he needed to do in a night. Tonight, Will felt like all those three at once, his head was buzzing to the point he felt like combusting right there and his brain refused to believe everything, that her mother was sick and on the verge of losing her.

With nothing much else to do and every second felt heavier, Will broke down on the ground.

He started to cry. He curled into a ball and wrapped his arms on his legs and his forehead leaning down on his knees.

Then all those feelings he tried to hide after seeing his mother unconscious in the ER burst out like water in a dam. His fears, pain, anger rushing and surging forward with so much pressure and intensity. For a moment, Will Solace wasn't a doctor. He was just a regular guy, a son fearing for his mother and he let all those feelings washed over him because as a doctor he couldn't allow those emotions to take over.

He was crying so hard that he was doubling over and tears were falling endlessly. Then suddenly, strong arms wrapped around him.

He knew it without even looking up that it was Nico. Nico didn't say anything. He was just right there holding Will. Will shifted in his position so his head was on Nico's chest. The doctor's hand fisted in Nico's shirt as Will continued to tremble from crying.

"How could I?" Will sobbed "How could I not know anything? We were just there last month! How could I not notice anything that time? I feel so stupid. What a doctor am I? How could my mother not tell me anything. . . . All this time, she's suffering, dying alone and I have no idea. How everything turned this way. I am a doctor. . ." Will was heaving now as he started beating his own head "I am useless. . . I am. . ."

"Will stopped it!" Nico held Will's hands "Yes, you are a doctor, but it does not mean that you have everything under control. It is not your fault that everything turned this way. This is exactly why your mother didn't told you, she doesn't want to burden you"

"But it is my job to get everything under control so I can save lives and now it felt like I was failing my mother-"

"No you are not!" Nico insisted, raising his voice "Listen, you can still make this work! Use your glowing trick"

Will stared at Nico then the blond frowned "It seemed so selfish of me that I am going to use it now after I stopped using it to others-"

Nico gripped Will's shoulders and looked intently at those blue orbs glistened with tears "Will, listen to me. Maybe, this is your call. Maybe this is your sign that you shouldn't abandon nor give up on your power, because it is a gift that needs to be used. Think about it" then Nico's eyes softened "For now, don't beat yourself up _figuratively_ and _literally._ Don't blame yourself because of it, I'm sure Naomi does not want that. You are a great doctor, you can save her" He kissed Will's forehead.

"B-but Mom's illness is so advanced-"

"I believe in miracle, Will." Nico said "And that's coming from someone who lived that long and seen some unexplainable things for decades. Whether that miracle comes from a capital G god or from whatever entities out there, never ever stop believing"

"Thank you, Nico. Thank you, for being here" Will whispered tilting his head to Nico. He calmed down a little bit after hearing Nico's reassuring words and after he let out those pent up feelings.

"It's my pleasure, Will. Always will be" Nico smiled "Do you feel better now?"

Will nodded

"Now, let's go inside. It's chilly out here" Nico said helping Will to stand up.

Now that Nico mentioned it, Will shivered a little bit. Fall was really here. Will briefly wondered what else fall is in store for him.

* * *

"How come you were with Dad and Mom earlier?" Will asked as they rode the elevator going down

"I was on my way out, when I saw your dad coming out from the ambulance together with Naomi lying on the stretcher" Nico answered

"And that's another question, Why Dad was with Mom. Are they communicating again?" Will muttered

"Just asked him, he was still there looking out for your mother" Nico said "By the way, I'll have to go. I'll just visit Naomi later"

Will nodded and kissed Nico's temple "Thank you"

Nico nodded and vanished. The elevator door opened as Will walked out alone.

Naomi was still unconscious when Will went to her room. Attached to Naomi were the electrodes for the heart monitor, a gas mask and an IV. Will pulled the blanket up to Naomi's chest and held Naomi's hand briefly. Then he checked the IV drip and the heart monitor for any abnormalities in the heart rate. The door opened as his father, Apollo came in. Apollo paused for a moment when he saw Will. Will momentarily forgot, how him and his father were so similar in physical features since they didn't see each other for a very long time. Like Will was just a younger version of Apollo. Apollo was wearing a pinstripe gray suit underneath a black dressed shirt paired with gray trousers and dressed shoes, like he was going to attend in some sort of formal music opera. Right, his father can be the flashiest when he wanted too. Apollo could be wearing pristine suit and bow tie in his sleep.

"Hey" Apollo greeted as he closed the door behind

"Hi" Will said feeling a little bit awkward shoving his hands on the pockets of his lab coat. The blond thought that he needed to brush off his interpersonal skills in relation to his father. It was getting dusty since he rarely used it.

"How was Naomi" Apollo asked stopping next to Will and looked down at Naomi

"Stable for the time being" Will answered then blurted out "I don't understand. I thought you were in Greece then you are here with Mom. Are you two back together?"

Apollo chuckled "No, son. It was just a coincidence. We came across at the hospital in Brooklyn last June. I got my right wrist sprained so I went there for a check up. Initially, I was at Brooklyn for vacation until my wrist healed and I can play again but I found out your mother's illness and then I was looking out for her from time to time since she's so stubborn on not telling you anything"

"How did you find out?" Will asked in a small voice

"When we met at that hospital, a prescription paper fell out from her purse and I saw some medicines and a radiotherapy written on it. Done some research and voila. I went to your mother's house to ask her about it, only to find out that she passed out on the front lawn. I accompanied your mother on her radiotherapy."

Will exhaled and briefly closed his eyes.

"It's going to be all right, son" Apollo rubbed Will's back

Will looked at his father gratefully, tears threatening to fall again but he fought the urge to cry again "Thank you. Thank you that my mother didn't have to go all through this alone. I just wished, she just told me sooner. . ."

"She was about to tell you Will" Apollo cut in "That's why we were both here in Manhattan. Then of course, she passed out again and that reminds me" he fished out something on his trouser's pocket, in his hand there was a flash drive. He gave it to Will and Will accepted it frowning "Naomi said to give that to you. I have no idea what's inside of it, just look at it. Okay."

"Thank you, dad" Will whispered clenching the flash drive "Take a rest, Dad. It's already midnight"

Apollo nodded.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**


	22. XXI - WILL

**XXI**

 **WILL**

Will sat down on their office and turned on the desktop computer. When the computer finished loading, he inserted the flash drive. The only content of that flash drive was an mp4 video so Will opened it. There, his mother Naomi appeared on the screen. She was sitting on the foot of her bed. She's wearing again a cardigan over a simple gray dress. Since Naomi's chest is a little bit exposed on that dress, Will could see her shoulder blades almost jutting out, her neck thinner and face sunken. She still wore a little bit of a makeup and a glossy lipstick, yet the makeup couldn't hide the weariness and exhaustion in her eyes. Yet, a smile still plastered on her face.

" _Hello, son."_ Naomi began then she coughed

" _Sorry, about that"_ Naomi grimaced _"Anyway, if you are watching this it means that I failed to tell you about my current condition. Well, it's either I still couldn't tell you or something went wrong with me that I didn't have a chance to tell you anymore. I've always known that I have a weak heart even before I was diagnosed with cancer. I was considering it a miracle that I made it alive when I gave birth to you. But you know what, the funny thing is, you were just here the other day, but I couldn't tell you about it. Maybe because we were all engrossed to the fact that you brought a handsome friend on our house that we were all having a good time that day and I just don't want to break that moment, like it was just any other normal day of our lives and can you believe that day I feel a whole lot better as if I don't have an illness at all. Maybe it's because every time I see you I always feel better."_ Naomi coughed again, this time covering her mouth with a tissue she pulled out from the tissue box next to her. She immediately disposed that tissue on something at her foot probably the trash bin since it wasn't on the camera range anymore.

Naomi cleared her throat _"You must be asking why I didn't tell you earlier than that day, or the other times you came or just even a phone call or text, telling you that your mom is sick. Well, to be honest, I was still in denial to the fact that I have a cancer. I know, call it stupidity, that I have a son whose a doctor and I can't seek for his help, but knowing you, you will probably abandon your job there and go here immediately. You'll refuse to leave me alone. I know how much you love your job there and I don't want you to leave your life there in Manhattan because of me. Much less to be a bigger burden on you, I know being a doctor is hard, you are always exhausted and I don't want to add to the things that will worry you. Eventually, you'll burn yourself out. How could I do that to you?"_

" _As a mother, no matter what the circumstances are, all I will do is to put you first because I love you son, you are my greatest treasure Will. And please, don't blame yourself that you didn't do enough for me. You have done more than enough for me, so so much that I couldn't ask for more. I am so proud of where you are right now and a person you came to be. I know you are always going to do your best as a doctor and I believe in you, I always believe in you no matter what happens. I love you"_ Naomi reached for the camera then the screen blacked out.

Will stared at the screen, tears streaming down on his face again. He silently wiped it and exhaled.

* * *

"You should rest" Lou said to Will as Will stretched his sore arms. It's been a busy night in the ER and the blond doctor was going here and there treating the patients coming to the ER.

"Your shift is going to be over anyway, just visit your mom instead" Lou added

Will sighed exhausted "I wasn't planning on going home so I can stay with mom. I'm going to do rounds on my patients first and I am going to take a nap at the on-call room."

"No need" Kayla interrupted who joined them in the ER station "I've already checked your patients. All vitals stable. As for Austin, I increased the dosage of painkillers on him and he's stable too. He was awake for a little bit earlier"

Will nodded and smiled gratefully at her friends "Thank you"

"Sure" Kayla said "But the dinner next time is on you"

Will laughed "All right"

"Let's go. I am going to take a nap too" Kayla dragged Will out the ER.

"So, have you decided yet, if you are going to push through the surgery on Naomi?" Kayla asked as they walked along the hallway

Will took a deep breath "Not yet. Dr. Carter seemed to be in agreement too on a surgery. The tumor is reaching the heart and we need to get it out before it reached the left heart chamber"

"If just in case you are going to push through the surgery, I know, you can do it Will. I'm saying this not just because I am your friend but you are one of the youngest and best surgeons I've ever met." Kayla patted his shoulder.

* * *

Will woke up to the sound of his alarm on his phone. He groaned. It felt like he just closed his eyes for a second and now, he's waking up again. He blindly reached for his phone beside his pillow and turned off the alarm. He sat up from his bed and stretched. He grimaced at the sudden sun light coming from the window and that's also when he noticed two big paper bags sitting on the table just by the window. Will frowned. The paper bags weren't there before he slept. Curious that he was, he walked towards the table and peered cautiously on the opening of the paper bag as if a bomb might explode on his face if he suddenly touched the bags.

The first thing he noticed on the first paper bag was two white legal envelopes with something written on it. He got the envelopes.

 _For Will._

The words were elegantly written in calligraphic script. One envelope was sealed and the other was opened so Will settled first to the opened envelope. He got the paper out of it and read.

 _You workaholic duffus, I brought you some change of clothes when I learned that you weren't going home. There's also a food there, so eat a lot. As for the second letter, you can read it on your spare time, not rushing you. I love you._

 _-Your Death Angel_

Heat rushed to his face seeing the letter that Nico had written. The death angel has never been so vocal about his feelings so it was a little bit surprising seeing the words _I Love You_ written there. Well, the doctor thought that Nico was just shy about it and he will come over it sometime soon. Will checked the paper bags and sure enough there were his clothes and food that could feed a battalion. Will gaped. Nico wasn't kidding on eating a lot.

"Oh you're awake" Kayla groaned.

Will forgot that Kayla was also there lying on the second deck of the bed. She stretched her arms. She turned and squinted her eyes on Will, one arm dangling over the bed.

"Nico brought them" Kayla said groggily

"When did he come?" Will asked

"He came earlier this morning to bring those. Damn. I'll fight tooth and nail to have a guy like that. What a sweetheart" Kayla grumbled

Will couldn't help but to smile "Well, the food was too many, let's eat breakfast, get up there and call Lou and Cecil so we can eat"

They moved the table so the four of them could sit around the table. They were eating and laughing on something Cecil had said when Will's phone vibrated.

He answered "Dr. Solace"

Will dropped the fork he was holding. He abruptly stood up almost rattling the table. He immediately grabbed his lab coat hanging on the rack and went outside.

He ran along the hallway nearing to his mother's room, his heart pounding on his rib cage.

 _Code Blue. Room 1411._ The speaker echoed in the hallway.

Will almost stumbled on the door when he reached Naomi's room. The long beeping sound of the heart monitor indicating an unresponsive heartbeat was reverberating in the room, a nurse gathered on the side of Naomi's bed and Apollo was there too.

"Administer an F1 ampule and get a defibrillator NOW!" Will shouted as he started to do a CPR on his mother.

A nurse handed him the paddles of defibrillator and Will started to do the shock. Naomi's chest only rise in response.

 _No mom. You can't do this to me; I still want to talk to you._

"One more time" Will ordered

Will pressed the paddles on Naomi's chest again. Still no response.

"Again" He said

 _You cannot leave me like this. MOM!_

Naomi's chest jerked up

While the defibrillator was charging, Will did the manual CPR on the chest. The nurse handed him back the paddles.

"Set to 200J" Will said

 _PLEASE MOM!_

The paddles made contact on Naomi's chest. The lines on the heart monitor started to rise and down again indicating a heartbeat.

Will was heaving as the nurse got the paddles out of his hands.

Will was running out of time. He needed to make a decision now.

* * *

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 **Thanks for reading and subscribing. :)**


	23. XXII - NICO

**XXII**

 **NICO**

For Nico, Will has always been a ball of sunshine, glowing so brightly every single day. Nico once thought that nothing or no one could ever knock that brightness out of Will no matter what the circumstances could be. But of course, Will could be unpredictable like weather. Like the once sunny day would turn out to be cloudy and soon it will rain. The sun would hide behind the thick clouds and the brightness would eventually fade. That was what it seemed like seeing Will broke down in the heliport the other day. Even if Nico's heart was already dead, he wondered why did the center of his chest hurt so much when he saw Will like that, alone in that cold ground, crying his heart out. Nico felt helpless and he badly wanted to ease Will's pain but he didn't know how. So, his only solution was to hold Will as firmer as he could. Because when everything around Will was falling apart, Nico needed to be the strong one holding the broken pieces together.

"Done checking me out?" Will raised an eyebrow at Nico as the blond pulled down his scrub shirt from his head.

Nico was sitting on a steel bench in the locker room of JHH.

"Did I ever tell you that you look more handsome in scrubs?" Nico tilted his head

Will threw his head back in laughter. There, his smiling and ever radiant sunshine. Nico smiled too.

"I believe, you haven't until seconds ago" Will shook his head. He got his scrub cap and mask then close the locker door behind.

"I'm glad, you are smiling like this" Nico said

"But I'm terrified inside" Will said quietly tying his scrub cap around his head.

Right. Today, Naomi Solace is going to undergo a surgery after so much discussion. They couldn't risk another cardiac arrest so they proceed with the surgery which was a risk too since Naomi could die during the surgery. Nico couldn't tell Will how much aura of death was surrounding Naomi. It was so thick that Nico was having doubt if she could fight it. Yet he have to hope, there was still Will's glowing trick.

"The Fates must have spared me earlier" Will continued, this time tying the mask around his neck "Even for a short period of time, mom was conscious earlier. She was always asleep because of the drugs administered to her and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to talk to her-" Will pause, exhaling "Well, as much as I want to scold her for not telling me about her condition, all I could say was I love her. Even then it felt like there were still a lot of things I needed to say to her. . ."

"You can tell her when she wakes up after the surgery" Nico said

Will exhaled again, he looked like he was having trouble to get the words out of his mouth "Nico, I am a doctor. I know the possibilities and the painful thing was, the worst possibilities are dominating all the good ones. But I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. The risks were high and as a surgeon, I don't have any other choice but to face those risks when it comes to a surgery. And as a doctor, I don't have any other choice but to keep my wits together for the sake of my mother"

Nico materialized in front of Will and held his hand "You'll be able to surpass this no matter what. We all believe in what you can do. Besides, you still have a back-up plan"

Will's glowing trick.

The two of them talked about it and it was there last option when everything else failed.

"You can do this" Nico squeezed Will's hand

* * *

Will was standing beside the operating table where Naomi Solace was anesthetized and drugged to sleep. Will was going to be assisted by Dr. Lee Fletcher. Lou was also there scrubbing in. Up in the spectator seat was Kayla, Cecil and some other doctors including Dr. Carter. Nico materialized in the corner inside the OR, invisible to everyone else.

Will silently nodded at Nico.

"All right" Will said behind his mask "Naomi Solace, here we go. Scalpel please"

Lou handed him the scalpel and it began.

The operation continued for seven hours. The anesthesiologist changed shift with one another. Some of the scrub attendants were already sitting on the floor due to exhaustion. Yet Lou remained standing just next to Will. The two surgeons were intently focused at the work present. Nico also remained on the same spot in the corner of the OR. The death angel could already see the faint glow that Will emitted fighting the aura of death surrounding Naomi. Nico couldn't help but be in awe on the sight of Will glowing.

Will was just extraordinarily stunning. Nico became more hopeful that all is going to be well.

But of course, things started to go wrong.

Blood suddenly spurt out from the open chest cavity staining Will's scrub suit. That awoke and alerted all the attendants inside the OR. Will's glow became brighter.

"Inject epinephrine and increase oxygen concentration" Will ordered

"BP going down on 60" Dr. Fletcher warned

"Get me a defibrillator" Will commanded again. The glow around him was like pulsating with life fighting and warding off the aura of death that continued to envelope Naomi. Nico was frozen in his place. The attendant gave Will the internal paddles, paddles that looked like big stainless spoon.

The paddles made contact at both sides of the heart. Will spoke "Set on 20J"

The shock came, the heart jerked a little bit. Will looked up at the heart monitor. It was still dangerously going down. His glow got stronger.

The BP was rising up again, going normal. Will sighed. He handed back the paddles to the attendant and resume on his work.

Nico exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding. He calmed down, a little bit. On the corner of his eye, he saw something black materialized out of nowhere. He turned towards that direction. His dead heart sank.

Not from afar, Bianca appeared with a horrified expression on her face.

"Oh, Styx. No!" Her voice seemed strangled

Will looked at her, his eyes widening a bit, the glow around him was starting to get dim.

"Dr. Solace." Dr. Fletcher called out to him. Will looked back down at his work.

"This can't be happening" Bianca said in panic "She's the last one on my list, if I didn't- if he snatched her again. I won't be able to reach my quota!"

And that means punishment for Bianca. Nico was rooted to the ground, trying to look back in forth between his sister and Will.

The BP was falling down again. The monitor was beeping in warning.

"Damn it!" Will cursed and started to massage the heart. His glow was shifting between brightness and dim.

"Defibrillator" Will said and Lou gave it to him "50J"

Will shocked the heart. The heart jerked.

"Again"

The Blood pressure rose a little bit as if responding to the intensity of light surrounding Will. But then, Will looked up at Bianca, then at Nico.

Here goes again the warning beep of the heart monitor

"Will, she's going into a cardiac arrest"

Will tried to shock the heart again but it was pointless anymore.

Will closed his eyes. Then Will's blinding light exploded all around him. Nico had to shield his eyes from it.

"No!" Bianca screamed

The long beeping sound of the heart monitor echoed out in the OR.

Bianca blinked looking around as if not comprehending what had just happened.

Dr. Fletcher looked up at the digital clock above the OR door "Time of death 03:20 a.m"

Bianca vanished

"I-I was just going to sew her up" Will croaked "That's the least thing I could do for her"

* * *

After Naomi's body was transferred to the morgue, Will was left alone in the OR together with Nico who never left his spot from the beginning. Maybe because his mind was still processing what had just happened. How could everything turned that way. All was going well in the beginning and. . Nico clenched his hands.

Will was sitting at the floor and leaning against the wall. Strangely, no tears were falling; Will was just staring at the empty space.

Will closed his eyes and tilted his head back "How long do you keep on standing there" He was referring to Nico.

"I'm sorry" Nico said finally

"Yeah" Will swallowed

"No. seriously. I'm sorry. It's my entire fault, wasn't it?"

Will's eyes snapped open and he frowned at Nico "What on earth are you talking about"

"She could have been saved"

Will stood up "You saw what happened. Mom didn't respond anymore on my power. There's nothing I could do about it!"

"Because you hesitated, because of me, of my sister"

Will didn't like where this was going, much less the unreadable expression on Nico's face

"A-are you blaming me now?"

"No, Will. I am blaming myself. Things could have been different if. . ." Nico swallowed "Bianca was right. I shouldn't have been mingling in the world of living because I don't belong here. Now, I've taken away the person you cared the most. I was just messing your life"

"What the hell Nico!" Will tried to walk towards Nico but Nico stepped back

"Will. . ." Nico's face contorted "I couldn't bear the fact that I am the reason why you weren't able to save Naomi-"

"Oh don't be so self-centered asshole!" Will snapped at him "Do you want me to explain every single detail to you how my mother's heart failed her as well as her lungs? Well it's started on hemmorhaging then-"

"Will stopped it!"

"NO, you shut up! How can you talk like that? Did I ever blame you for once? All I need you right now is you here beside me not arguing with me and spouting nonsense because I need you right now!"

"Don't you understand Will? Things could have been better without me? I am interfering with your power, I am the reason why you are giving it up. I'm so stupid not to realized that I am holding you down, that you can be someone far more greater but because I was sticking on your side, I just made everything worst and prevented you to do your job and use your power for the greater good"

"W-What are you trying to say then? A-are you breaking up with me now?"

"I-I am so sorry Will"

"You're so unfair! How could you do this! I just lost my mother and you are bringing this up?" Will's blue eyes' blazed.

Will turned around on his heel

Nico was having a hard time breathing.

* * *

 **Please don't bite me! huhu**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Please review! (even though it felt like there's going to be an uprising in the review section LOL. or a lot of tantrums. I really need to hide now, don't I?)**


	24. XXIII - WILL

**XXIII**

 **WILL**

" _Will? I thought you're going to be back on weekends, what are you-" Naomi paused when she saw the look on Will's face who was still standing at the door of their house. His face was downcast and shoulder sagged._

" _What happened? Is there something wrong?" Naomi rushed to his son_

 _Tears welled up on Will's eyes, and then he hugged his mother. He started to cry_

" _It's terrible mom, I wasn't able to save this patient I operated. I thought everything's going well and then in an instant, he's dead. I did my best to save him but it wasn't enough" Will sobbed_

 _Naomi understand immediately, Will's first case of DOT or death on the table as a surgeon. She rubbed Will's back as he continued to cry._

" _No son, you did your best to save him" Naomi said "But you can't always save everyone. You're just a human and you have your limits. You can't always cheat death you know"_

 _Will pulled away and looked down at his mother. He briefly wondered if she had any idea about his power. The power he thought that will always save everyone and for the very first time that day, his power failed him._

" _Son" Naomi wiped away the tears on Will's cheek "This isn't going to be the last time that you won't be able to save someone no matter how hard you try, it's a harsh truth, but you have to accept it and move on from it and just focus on the people you can still save."_

Will's eyes snapped open and jolted upright. He was heaving as sweat trickled to his temple down to his cheek. Then he looked around still a little bit disoriented from sleep. When his brain started to process properly again, he realized that he was in his mother's bedroom and fell asleep on her bed, again.

And when the current moment, time and day sunk on Will, he started to tremble as he hugged his knees and started to cry. He tried to fight it really, the pain, the sadness and the emptiness but tears started to fall even before he could try to urge his mind to stop crying as all those ugly feelings consumed him all over again. Will was doing that routine for a week now, after his mother funeral.

He was on leave from the hospital for two weeks now and two weeks ever since he last saw Nico di Angelo. Sometimes, Will didn't know who he was mourning for nor for whom he was crying. There were days that he was crying for his mother that he won't ever see again and there were times that he was crying for Nico wondering if he will ever come back or gone for good. Thinking the latter one, doubled his pain. How could Nico leave all of a sudden? How could Nico leave like that when he needed him the most? When he stopped wondering about Nico, he will go back mourning for his mother and the cycle just repeated.

When his sobs subsided, he looked at his side and surely, there's a tray of food at the bedside table and there's a note from his father to eat more. His food now was on rations and it's always half eaten. Meanwhile, his father Apollo would regularly visit him and there were times that Apollo would sleep in the spare room for a night. Somehow, Will managed to avoid him, usually by feigning he was asleep.

Suddenly, the door burst open; Will barely looked at the door.

"That's it!" Apollo shouted as he went in the room "I've given you the time and space you needed but I can't watch you wither like that!"

"Just leave me alone" Will sighed

"You cannot go one like this forever. You've got your job, you've got a life!"

"Yeah. . ."

"Will" Apollo walked towards Will and tried to touch his shoulder but Will shrugged it off

"Why do you care, all of a sudden?" Will stood up whirling around to face his father "You were gone from our lives for a long time? Why are you here now?"

"Because Naomi asked me to look after you!" Apollo cried

At the mention of Naomi's name, Will knees started to buckle and tears were threatening to fall again.

"And I haven't forgot that I am still your father" Apollo said softly "I know, you resented me for the mistakes I've done to you and to your mother. I know I was a jerk father and husband. I know you wouldn't accept me that easily. I know I wouldn't be able to bring back the time that I lost and wasted but I was willing to create new ones with you because I couldn't leave you like this. I am not that a monster to leave my son this miserable. Even you don't want to, I am going to be here and continue to be here no matter what"

Will looked away as tears slid down his cheeks "Just. . . . Just go. Please"

Dejected, Apollo turned and headed out the room. He quietly closed the door behind. Will lied on the bed and fell asleep, cheeks stained with tears and fell asleep. The next day, Will woke up from a shout.

"WILLIAM SOLACE! GET YOUR ASS OUT THERE!"

Will sat up as he blinked he knew that voice very well. Afterwards, the door burst open

Will groaned "People seemed to forget to knock these past few days"

Kayla stood at the foot of the bed, hands on her hips.

"Goodness gracious William, what are you doing to yourself?" Kayla said aghast "Since when the last time you eat? Nor get out of the house? You look like a ghost!"

"Thanks" Will muttered

"Stupid of me to leave you alone. Stupid of me to believe you that you needed time to be alone" Kayla slapped her forehead "Thankfully I came here. Apollo said that he was about to call me because he was worried about you"

Will made no comment. He was looking down and drawing circles on the duvet. Kayla sat at the edge of the bed and took Will's hands.

"Will, I get it that you're sad but I think it's too much that you are not taking care of yourself anymore. Naomi wouldn't want this"

"I don't know" Will pulled his hands away and standing up "How could I know. She's not here anymore"

"So?" Kayla snapped back "Just because Naomi isn't here doesn't mean you are going to throw away your life. This isn't you Will!"

Will's back was facing Kayla "When I had my first case of death on the table, I went straight to mom because I felt so terrible that time. That I had to see her just to make myself feel better because seeing her always makes me feel wonderful, like I could do anything. Mom said that, it wasn't going to be the last time that I wasn't able to save someone and I should just move on from it and focus on the people I can still save. But then, of all people I couldn't save, why I wasn't able to save my mother nor prolong her life a little bit more? Is the world mocking me? Had I been a good doctor enough?-"

"Face me" Kayla interrupted

Will slowly turned and faced Kayla. She was standing in front of Will. Then she punched Will in the face that made him stumbled back. Will stared at Kayla wide eyed as he touched his jaw where Kayla had punched him.

"Are you awake now?" Kayla asked "Are you doubting yourself now as a doctor? Do you want to go back on being a resident just so you can boost your confidence again? Or do you want me to discuss to you Naomi's cause of death? We can do that all day. But for goodness' sake! You know too well that self-doubt has no place in our jobs!"

Will remained silent. Kayla walked towards Will and hugged him.

"I told you, it's all right to be sad, but please don't destroy yourself" Kayla whispered

"Thank you" Will whispered back "Thank you for being here and for punching me"

Kayla laughed softly and pulled away from Will "By the way, where is Nico? Is he here?"

Will stiffened

"I-I don't know. The last time I saw him was two weeks ago." He looked away

Kayla frowned and cursed "Did you fight? Why would you guys fight on a time like this?!"

"Ask him"

"Looks like there's a bastard whom I'm going to punch too" Kayla muttered


	25. XXIV - NICO

**XXIV**

 **NICO**

 _(The same day Naomi died)_

Nico materialized in the underworld, seconds after, Bianca also appeared besides him

"Have you lost your mind?" Bianca shouted at Nico as he trudged towards the small valley surrounded by walls, a gated community also known as Elysium.

"I need to see Naomi. She's in the Elysium right?" Nico continued to walk faster

Bianca yanked Nico's arm so he was forced to face her "I'm certain. You really lost your mind. Because you already lost it you must have forgotten that you can't go in there!"

"So what?" Nico yanked his arm back he was going to walk again when Bianca pushed him back

"So what?!" Bianca shouted "How many rules do you intend to break? Who are you? What have you done to my Nico? What that jerk doctor did to you!"

"Even if I tell you what he did to me you'll never understand it" Nico said quietly "Besides, he's not the one who's a jerk here. It's me"

"Nico!"

"Will saved your ass so shut it Bianca"

Nico left Bianca rooted to the spot.

"You are not allowed in here" the black ghoul said who was guarding the big golden gate to Elysium. The other black ghoul pointed a sword at Nico near his throat.

In one swift movement, Nico parried the sword away from him with his own Stygian sword.

"You will let me in or you will regret refusing me" Nico said, his voice was dangerously quiet, more of a warning of what was to come. Then, waves of black aura appeared, coiling around Nico.

"Back away. This is my last warning" Nico said

One of the black ghouls made a mistake and attack Nico. In a swish, the darkness around Nico zapped out the ghoul and the ghoul disintegrated.

"Do you want to follow him?" Nico asked. His eyes were turning onyx black. The ground started to tremble. The black aura was getting bigger.

The ghoul made a wise decision to step back. The ghoul spoke as Nico started to walk "You are the one who's going to regret this"

Nico paused in front of the ghoul. He was looking ahead "Don't you know? Regret and Guilt are my bestfriends"

The golden gate of Elysium opened and Nico walked inside.

Elysium was truly a paradise, like a utopia where everything was in harmony. Thousands of souls scattered around laughing and glowing. Souls nearby Nico paused when they see him. He didn't realize that he was still surrounded by a black aura, the ground starting to tremble in Elysium. Nearby souls ran away in fear. Then, one by one all of them started to back away as far away from him as possible.

Nico closed his eyes. His breathing ragged. He needed to calm down or else he might blow off the whole Elysium. He could feel it, the power radiating around him. Anger, pain, guilt and regret were powerful tools to create a bomb that could incinerate everything in his radius. But how could he calm down when every part of him hurt, when it felt like he was going to crack. He was starting to get scared of the power he might unleash accidentally. Who knew that feelings can be a weapon of destruction? He understood now why death angels shouldn't have any human feelings. It was a dangerous thing when you've given a second chance to roam around the living. Desperate that he was, he started to think of blue eyes and blond, even if it's painful.

Slowly, his breathing became steady; the shaking of his body subsided. Nico opened his eyes. Souls were watching him warily.

"I-I need help" He croaked "I need to find a soul named Naomi Solace"

The souls just stood there in silence. Thousands of souls and one soul to find, Nico needed a good luck charm. This could take a while.

* * *

"Naomi!" Nico lost count how many times he shouted Naomi's name. If he had been a mortal, his voice would probably be gone by now. He lost count on how many souls he asked for Naomi and he lost count on how many times he was directed to a wrong Naomi. With growing failures and disappointment of finding her, he was starting to give up.

Nico paused in walking. He bent over as he put his hands on his knees. _No. You can't._ He reminded himself. He _needed_ to find her no matter what. Naomi was the only one who could help him. There were things he needed to tell to her.

"Boy. . ."

Nico looked up. In front of him was an old man shimmering in white. Nico straightened up.

"I heard that you were looking for a woman named Naomi" the soul said

"Yeah. . " Nico was uncertainty was growing, this could be another wrong Naomi.

"And she's a new soul?" the soul asked again

"Yes. . ."

"Who was also a country alt singer, you say?"

Nico nodded

"Well, there's a woman who was singing in Elm street so probably. . ."

"And where's this Elm street?"

"Just straight ahead"

"Thank you" Nico said and ran. Even if it was possibly another wrong Naomi, he couldn't stop trying. He couldn't.

He paused when he saw a gathered crowd of souls on a big tree from a distance. Instead of leaves, emerald stones were hanging on a tree making it glimmered, like all the trees and flowers in the Elysium that were made of precious stones.

Then the singing voice echoed. His eyes widen. Even though he never heard Naomi sang. He couldn't be mistaken about the voice. He ran towards the voice. When he reached the crowd, he pushed through the souls.

"Excuse me" Nico said and the souls graciously parted.

And finally, he saw Naomi. Singing her heart out, eyes closed. Naomi's voice was so captivating that he momentarily forgot why he was there in the first place. Naomi's eyes opened and landed exactly on Nico. The song abruptly stopped as Naomi's eyes widen.

"N-Nico!"

* * *

"I knew it" Naomi said "The first time I met you, I know that there's already something special about you. Will certainly knew how to pick"

They were sitting under the same tree. The gathered crowd has been dispersed so Nico and Naomi found some privacy. At the mention of Will's name, Nico's dead heart constricted.

"But, why are you here?" Naomi asked tilting her head to Nico

"I am so sorry!" Nico's face contorted. Then something wet and unfamiliar slid down from his cheeks. He froze. He gingerly touched his cheek and looked at his fingers.

Tears.

Tears that mortal shed when they were extremely happy or sad or if words cannot be uttered out loud, tears could speak volume. Nico clenched his hand and closed his eyes.

"You could have live. Will could have save you! B-but because of me.. Because I was there. . I am so sorry. It was my fault!" Nico started to tremble and sobbed "And now Will was miserable because of me and I couldn't stand the fact that it was because of me. I took you away from him. I am sorry Naomi"

"N-Nico!" Naomi gripped both of his forearms "Calm down. My death isn't your fault and never will be your fault!"

Nico opened his eyes to look at Naomi. Naomi was gazing softly at him, like how a mother would look at his child. Naomi released him.

"Listen, hon. Even if you are someone so extraordinary, you couldn't stop the natural flow of universe. People die, animals die even the stars die too. There's nothing you could do about it. Dying is the finish line of everyone out there"

"B-but Will, he can save you, he has this power-"

"Ah." Naomi nodded "When he was a child he did something amazing to our pet dog, he suddenly glowed and healed our pet. It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" Naomi elbowed Nico playfully "Will is beautiful when he glow like that. Is that how you fall in love with my son?"

Nico was stunned to silence

"Mothers always know mostly everything" Naomi continued "I know that Will could do extraordinary things when he glowed. But Will isn't a god and death is a constant thing, once constant, it is permanent. Therefore cannot be removed nor change. No matter how much Will prolong a life of a person, they still die in the end. Just like me and I've already accepted that long before."

"Then please tell me it was okay" Nico bowed, hands clenching "Please tell me it's all right. Because the guilt was too heavy that I couldn't bear it and it hurts so much. I kept on thinking that things might have been different if I didn't met Will at all, and you're still going to be there. . ."

"Yes, Nico. Things would have been different. Because if you didn't meet Will at all, he wouldn't be that happy, you make my son the happiest"

Nico's head whipped up. Naomi wiped the tears out of Nico's cheek and smiled

"I saw it" Naomi said "The day you went in the house. I saw how Will's eyes sparkle when he looked at you, how his smile and laugh was brighter when he was with you."

"I-I . . . ."

"Now, stop blaming yourself to the things that had been done. It's no use anymore. Live in the present now and for the future. Just go back to Will and can you tell him that I was already happy here and there's nothing to be sad about because I was already at the paradise. Please take care of my Will. Nico huh?"

"B-but I did something terrible . . ."

"It's not yet too late" Naomi hummed

"Do you know how different our world is? I couldn't even give him a normal date. And I'm just a hindrance to his power"

"It's not a hindrance Nico, it was what you call sacrifice. You sacrifice some things for the people you love. You're also willing to sacrifice for Will, aren't you?"

Nico slowly nodded

"So is Will, you are not the only one who can sacrifice things for the sake of the people you love. It's a mutual thing and that is love. And that's all that matters, love"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and subscribing! :)**

 **Please Review!**

 **As I have said before I was aiming to finish part 1 this year, so far, in my initial draft there are three more chapters left. Yay! but it's still depends if i was going to split a chapter into two. But still, we're almost there at the end of part 1. So stay tuned!**

 **~nikki**


	26. XXV - WILL

**XXV**

 **WILL**

The sun was setting down in the far horizon and its faint red orange ray seeped through Will's bedroom window. Will just finished buckling the belt of his jeans when his phone vibrated on his dresser. He walked to his dresser half-naked. Lou was calling. He answered it and put it on loudspeaker mode.

"Hey" Will put his phone back on the dresser as he went to his closet.

"Hey my butt blondie" Lou's voice echoed "So I heard you are going back to work"

"You heard it right" Will answered as he rummaged for his clothes in the closet. He settled for a cream turtle neck knitted sweater.

"Good. As a welcome gift, you've got a minor surgery at nine and two more at midnight"

Will rolled his eyes "Wow. I really appreciate you're welcome gift" He pulled the sweater over his head.

"I know right!" Lou chirped "So get your ass here immediately. Your patients miss you already"

Will smiled as he closed the door of the closet

"And Will" Lou said. Will turned towards the direction of his phone "I'm glad your back"

"Will said "Yeah me too."

"So see yah blondie!" Lou hung up

Will sat down at the dresser. He got his watch and fastened it around his wrist. He then made a mistake of looking down at his phone screen. His mood dampened as he saw the picture of Nico di Angelo on his screen. It was a stolen shot of Nico's back in the helipad of JHH. Nico was looking up at the sky as his hands tucked inside the pockets of his bomber jacket. Will picked up his phone and stared at the screen of it for a moment.

" _Where are you right now?"_

At first Will was mad at Nico for leaving him all of a sudden but then after a while, he stopped hating him because right now all he wanted is to know where he is. The blond wished that wherever Nico is, he was fine and in one peace because at this moment, that's all that Will cared about. Looking back at it, Will almost forgot that Nico had been blaming himself for Naomi's death. The doctor was so consumed with grief for his mother that he overlooked the fact that Nico was in pain too. A pain that could have been prevented if Will could have reminded Nico that nothing was his fault nor will be his fault. He wished too that Nico would stop the pointless self-blaming. Will took a deep breath and stood up as he pocketed his phone in his jeans. He grabbed his coat and bag.

Will headed out his room and as he walked in the hallway he passed by Naomi's room. He paused for a brief moment staring wistfully at the door then he continued walking and climbed down the stairs.

Apollo was sitting in the living room. Several music sheets were scattered on the center table. He was hunched over the table while writing on one of the music sheets. A guitar was propped on the sofa next to him.

"Are you writing a new music" Will greeted his father

Apollo looked at Will and straightened up "Ah yeah, since I'm still on a vacation, might as well put it on a good use" He gazed up and down at his son who was clutching a bag and a coat. Apollo raised an eyebrow "Going somewhere?"

"Yep, going to work"

Apollo stared at Will

"What?" Will rolled his eyes seeing his father's reaction "You said it before, I've got a job, I've got a life"

Apollo shook his head and smiled "I'm glad, Will"

Will couldn't help but laugh "I wonder how many people will be glad of me today"

Apollo looked confusedly at his son

Will waved his hand "Never mind that" He paused contemplating something. Then Will sat down on the sofa opposite from his father putting his coat and bag beside him. He looked up at his father who tilted his head at him. Apollo was looking curiously at Will.

"I don't resent you" Will began, clasping his hands together "At least not anymore. Mom said that I shouldn't hold ill feelings towards others for a long time because I'll turn bitter at the end so I stopped resenting you" Will looked away scratching his neck

"I-"Apollo was searching for words to say "Thank you. It means so much to me"

"You can live here too, if you want" Will blurted out "This house will be often vacant because I am always at Manhattan, so you could stay here. I don't want to sell the house because this place has so many memories with mom"

"Who am I to refuse such big offer?" Apollo smiled "You know, I considered taking custody of you when you were younger because I doubt Naomi could provide all of your needs that time but I'm glad I didn't because you wouldn't be this kind of man if Naomi didn't raise you"

"Besides, I'd probably be holding musical instruments instead of scalpel. Don't want that" Will muttered

Apollo burst out laughing "Yeah, and now I already realized that holding a scalpel suits you more than holding musical instruments"

Will smiled

"Well then, since I've been given a privilege of officially staying here, you should be home for Thanksgiving okay?"

Will nodded "Okay" He stood up as he wore his coat and grabbed his bag "I should go. I'll be late for work"

Apollo stood up too "Sure"

Apollo walked Will out the door. They reached the front porch. Will turned to Apollo.

"But I'm curious, dad, if you don't mind" Will said "I know, things didn't work out for you and mom because you fell in love with someone else. Where is she now? Or he?"

Apollo chuckled "Both. And to answer your question, I let them go"

"Why?"

Apollo exhaled "Let's just say that my love became a burden to them so to lift up that burden, I had to let them go –huh, that's a good lyrics for a song. For a haiku too, I just need to rephrase it"

"How will you know if love became a burden?" Will asked

Apollo looked at Will distractedly "Well, to put it simply if he or she isn't happy with you anymore"

In a brief moment, Will wondered if there will be a time that he need to let Nico go.

"I'm curious too" Apollo said "Where is the guy who was with me when I rushed Naomi to the hospital? He visited Naomi a few times but then he wasn't at the funeral. You seemed close though. .. "

"Believe me dad, I was wondering the same thing, wondering on where is he right now" Will gazed ahead "By the way, I'm going now. Bye"

Apollo clapped Will at the back and watched his son as he walked towards his car.

* * *

It was already evening when Will reached Manhattan. He pulled out his key from the ignition after parking his car. He picked up his bag from the seat next to him and climbed down the car. He walked towards the back entrance of JHH greeting some colleagues on the way. He was unaware of a guy going out of the hospital from a corner.

He went straight to the locker room and changed his clothes. Soon, he was wearing his scrubs and white lab coat. He closed his locker and went to a nearby mirror hanging on the wall. He stared at his reflection. Yep, this is him. Will Solace and his white lab coat. He didn't realize until now that he missed wearing scrubs and being here at the hospital. With one last brush of hair on his forehead using his hand, he walked out the room.

He proceeded to the emergency room to start his shift but then along the way, he noticed that some police officers were rushing past him. He shrugged it off and continued on his way. As always he was greeted by a whirlwind of patients and doctors in the ER, he was about to go towards a patient when Kyla dragged him in the corner.

"Hello there too" Will greeted Kyla

Kyla ignored his greeting; she looked troubled "We've got a problem"

"What is it?" Will's smile faltered

"Austin is missing"

"What? How?" Will half shouted

"Lou was the first one to discover that Austin was gone earlier. His IV was left in the room and he wasn't scheduled for any test today so he shouldn't be out of his room. Austin was transferred to a regular room a week back but he wasn't in any condition to wander around"

"Have you checked the cctv's?" Will asked

"I'm on my way to the security room when I saw you"

"Let's go there" Will said

When they reached the security room, Percy and Jason were already there reviewing the cctv footages on a monitor.

"Any luck?" Will asked the police officers

"There!" Jason suddenly pointed at the monitor screen. They all looked and saw Austin walking down the hallway and went inside a room

"Wait, that's the locker room" Kayla said

After a moment, Austin walked out the room wearing a different kind of clothes and continued his way. He was out of the range on the cctv in that area so they find another footage where he's in.

"And that is Dr. McKinley's clothes. He'll be pissed" Kayla said again

"Where did he go this time?" Jason muttered

"Hey! That's it" Percy shouted. The security in charge clicked another footage and zoomed it in.

"He was heading towards the back entrance" Percy noted

And on the footage, it could be seen that Will was going in and Austin was inconspicuously walking out in the corner, hunched over. Jason issued some command on his walkie-talkie.

"Damn it! I was already there and I didn't even notice." Will muttered clenching his hand

"That's all right, Doc" Percy straightened "Since we already know which way he went and what clothes he was wearing, our search will be faster"

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Will asked

"Nothing much as of the moment. We will surely bring him back here as soon as we find him" Jason said

"Does he know what truly happened to his girlfriend, that's why he ran away?"

"As far as we know, he didn't" Jason answered

"But where is he going?" Kayla asked

"God forbid but we deduced that he was going to return to that stupid syndicate once he was back on two feet" Percy said "We should have guarded him more"

"But why?" Will cried "It was so dangerous!"

Percy turned to Kayla "Have you noticed anyone suspicious going around Austin's room lately?"

"I didn't notice anyone or anything suspicious" Kayla answered

"That whatever syndicate is really after him, isn't it?" Will stated

Percy and Jason just looked at each other.

"Anyway, we have to go, doc" Percy tapped Will on the arm and the two officers headed out the room.

Will and Kayla were walking down the hallway as Kayla talked about who-knows-what. Will wasn't really paying attention when his mind was wandering on someone else. Kayla stopped in front of Will and Will halted.

"You are not listening to me!" Kayla accused

"Say, how's Austin condition before he ran away?" Will asked

Kayla sighed "He's doing good. We pulled out the stitches on his chest but because he was doing some stupid and dangerous as of this moment, he was risking of reopening the wound. We were still waiting for the latest lab results so we can know when to discharge him but of course he already discharged himself"

Will bit his lip

"Oi. I know that look. I'm warning you. Don't do anything stupid" Kayla warned Will

"Like what?" Will tried to look innocent

"Like running after Austin. I know you're selfless that way" Kayla said "Just go and check your schedule for tonight in the office. I saw on the board that you've got three surgeries"

"Yeah. .."

"Will!"

"What!"

"I am warning you really, I'm going to beat you to pulp if you do something reckless"

"I am not. Tsk" Will turned around and walked away "I am going to the office"

Will entered the office and saw Dr. Michael Yew sitting at the table playing on his phone

"Oh, you're back. Doc" Dr. Yew greeted Will

"Yep" Will headed to the bulletin board hanging on the wall in the corner. He really got three surgeries and the first one will start at nine. Will looked at his watch. It was 7:30 p.m. He bit his lip. Then he looked at Dr. Yew who resumed playing on his phone. Will looked back at the board. He exhaled.

"Dr. Yew. . ." Will turned at the fellow doctor

"Huh?" Dr. Yew looked up

* * *

Will found himself running on the streets looking around. He changed back on his own clothes and a backpack was sling over his shoulder. He couldn't just let it go really. At this point, Austin could develop pneumonia then there's the bleeding and other infections that he could get by just going out in his current condition and weather. If everything went worst for Austin, there's a huge possibility that Will can save him using the glowing trick. He tried to ask the people around about Austin if they saw him passed by. He used the photo of Austin he snatched earlier from his medical files as reference.

Most of the people he asked didn't recognized the boy. Will was about to give up when one particular beggar sitting in the corner recognized the picture. The beggar pointed far ahead. Will thanked the beggar and ran on that direction.

He ended up in a dimly lit alleyway and Will was started to be creep out from the surroundings. It was a typical alley you could see in a movie where monsters and gangsters hang out and popped out of nowhere. It was littered with garbage and the smell stink. Will rounded in the corner and froze.

In the distance, a figure was sitting limply on the ground, his back leaned on the wall. He recognized that figure.

"Austin!" Will ran towards him

"Oh thank the gods!" Will exclaimed crouching in front of Austin. Austin was sweating and heaving. His eyes closed.

"Hey?" Will lightly tapped Austin's cheek "Austin, can you hear me?" Will checked his pulse on the neck and cursed. It was weak. Will noticed that Austin's clothes were stained red in the chest. Another curse came out from Will's mouth. He unbuttoned Austin's clothes and surely the gauze pad was crimson red. The wound reopened. Somehow, Will was silently thanking his doctor's instinct and brought some medical supplies. He had to stitch the wound close again to stop the bleeding. He opened his backpack and set to work. He started to glow.

After a moment, Will was covering the wound with a new gauze pad. His glow already faded. Despite the weather Will was sweating too. He wiped out the sweat from his forehead with his arm. Will was listening to Austin's heartbeat using a stethoscope when Austin opened his eyes.

"I knew it" Will muttered "Pneumonia"

"Who- Doc?" Austin frowned at Will

"Yes. It's me. Surprise" Will said "Now we are going back to the hospital. Can you stand?"

"No!" Austin gripped both Will's arms that made the doctor jumped in surprise "Lyra is in danger. The police lied to me and so were you. She was captured"

"H-how did you even know? You are not sure-"

"I am. One of Python's minions came to see me in the hospital. He was blackmailing me. If I don't go, Lyra is dead" Austin was still breathing hard

"Listen, Austin" Will said "Let's just call the police and-"

"Python wants me because the police needed me as a witness. What do you think they'll do with Lyra if they saw me marching towards them with a police?" Austin spat

"But this is dangerous!"

"Just go. Leave me alone" Austin stood up with difficulty and Will assisted him.

"Who the hell is Python anyway" Will muttered

"Let's just say he was the one operating the syndicate" Austin was buttoning his shirt

"So he is not the boss?"

"No and I don't even know who is" Austin started to walk

"Hey!" Will helplessly followed Austin deeper in the alley throwing his stethoscope and leaving his things behind.

Will tried to talk Austin out of this suicide mission but of course Austin wouldn't budge and before Will knew it they reached an abandoned five-storey building. It was a twin building connected by skybridge in the third floor.

"Well, well, well" A voice boomed out from somewhere

The latter two froze

"I knew you are an obedient boy" from the shadows, a big figure emerged. He was smiling sinister at them. Eyes as cold as ice and a face that promised bloodshed. It was like he was born just to kill everyone on sight. Python was standing before Will and Austin.

Will's hand was deep in the pocket of his coat, he silently pressed _Send_ on his phone. _Percy, I am counting on you._

One by one, heavily armed men started to emerge from the shadows too. Will and Austin were surrounded.

 _We're screwed._ Will thought

* * *

 **What's going to happen to Will now? Will he able to get out of that situation alive? Where is Nico? Will he be able to save Will or will it be too late?**

 **Weew! Welcome to the last arc of Part 1.**

 **Advance Merry Christmas everyone!**

 **Thanks for reading, subscribing and reviewing! I love reading your thoughts about this story. They were fun to read. I've been cursed a lot of times because I am always making our cute couple miserable. lol.**

 **Btw. I apologize for any typographical or grammatical errors. I have no beta for this story and no matter how many times i reread every chapter for any typos, there were still teeny tiny mistakes that slipped past. But I always edit a chapter if I notice any typos or mistakes even if its already posted. so yeah.**

 **~Nikki**


	27. XXVI - NICO

**XXVI**

 **NICO**

Nico cursed. He knew. He knew that he will spend quite a long time in the underworld since finding a soul among thousands was not easy. But he didn't expect that it would take this long. Two weeks. It's been two freaking weeks almost going three since he left the upper world. He almost faint when he learned that today's date was October 20.

He ran through the streets of Manhattan while ever so often glancing at his back. He barely made it out alive in the underworld as the furies chased after him when he broke into the Elysium. Bianca had bought him some time to get to the upper world but it won't last long. Now, as a distraction if ever there were _underworlders_ after him, he can temporarily lose them in this sea of people as well as warding off his scent. They can't harm him in this crowded area full of mortals. All Nico wanted was a little bit of time to talk to Will and after that Nico will gladly accept whatever consequence awaits for him.

The sky rumbled as lightning flashed across it. It seemed that it was going to rain. Yet as Nico looked up for a brief second, he could feel it. It was a premonition of what was to come. A bad omen. It was a déjà vu as if the history was repeating itself, Bianca protecting him and him dying all over again. The sky was conspiring with the underworld, manifesting Hades' wrath. Wrath towards him. Nico vanished in black smoke in the middle of the crowd. Some yelped in surprise but most of them were confused as to what had happened.

Nico appeared in front of Jupiter Half-blood Hospital. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. Then he wondered for a second why he was having a hard time to breathe when he knew that he was immortal. He got his answer as he stared at his reflection on the glass window of JHH. His eyes widen. His reflection started to flicker, as if, as if he was going to disappear. When he looked down at his hands, black smoke was curling around him. The shadows were taking him back. He almost smile, no one could really ran away from Hades. Now, he was _forced_ to come back to the underworld.

He closed his eyes, trying to ease the panic building inside him. _Lord Hades, all I need is a little bit more time, after that I'm yours and do whatever you want. But I won't leave this world until I finished what I have to do. I won't._ His hands curled into fist. _I control the shadows. They do not control me._

Nico opened his eyes and looked back at his reflection. His reflection stopped flickering, the shadows disappeared. He took a deep breath and went inside the hospital. Nico went to the Emergency Room and learned that Will wasn't there. A nurse said that Will has a scheduled surgery at that moment.

 _Operating Room then._ Nico thought and vanished. The nurse blinked at the space where Nico had been.

Nico appeared on every operating room in JHH but no sign of Will. He even checked the locker room and other rooms that a surgeon might go before a surgery but there's still no trace of the blond. He was starting to have a bad feeling about it. Will never missed a surgery.

Soon, with some stroke of luck, he met Kyla and Lou in the hallway.

"Kyla!" He called and ran towards the two "Where is Will?"

Kyla stared impassively at Nico while Lou gasped in surprise.

"Nico!" Lou exclaimed "Where have you been?!"

"It's a long story but I need to see and talk to Will. Where is he?" Nico asked

Then all of a sudden, Kyla punched him in the face and Nico stumbled back in surprise.

"Kyla!" Lou shouted

"You dare to find Will after leaving him all of a sudden?" Kyla seethed "Where were you when Will needed a support especially from you? Where were you when Will needed you the most?"

Lou was holding Kyla back

Nico held the side of his face "I-I know I am a jerk for leaving Will at a time like that. That's why I am here to talk to Will. I don't have much time-"

Kyla huffed "What do you think of Will? You can't just come in and out of Will's life when you pleased it! Do you even consider what he might feel? Gods, you are an insensitive jerk!"

"Kyla please. There's not much time left. . ." Nico pleaded but Kyla wasn't listening to him anymore as the doctor stared behind him, frowning.

"Dr. Yew" Kyla called out to the doctor entering the operating room. She walked towards the doctor "Why are you here? This is Will's surgery, isn't it?"

"Ah, that bastard, asked me to cover for him" Dr. Yew answered "He said that there's an urgent matter he needed to do. " Then in a low voice he added "Besides, he offered me something that was hard to refuse. .. " Then he went inside the OR.

Kyla was frozen in her spot. She turned pale.

"K-kyla?" Lou called at her uncertainly. Nico was frowning at her.

Then Kyla covered her face with her hands and released a muffled scream.

"H-hey, what's happening?" Lou shook Kyla

Kyla looked at Lou. She was shaking "Will went after Austin. We need to call the police"

Lou also went pale

"O-oi what's going on?" Nico asked. He didn't like the expressions he was seeing.

"Stay out of it" Kyla snapped at him and ran.

"Hey, Lou" Nico held the nurse's arm "Please tell me what's going on? Is Will in some sort of trouble?"

Lou took a deep breath "Will has this patient named Austin-"

"I know Austin, skip the intro" Nico interrupted

"Then you also know that patient was involved in some sort of syndicate?" When Nico nodded, Lou continued "Austin has gone missing earlier and the police believed that he went back to that syndicate. Will went after Austin"

"He did WHAT?"

"Will is in danger right now" Lou said worriedly "Stupid Will. . ."

Nico turned on his heel and ran.

"Nico!"

He rounded in the corner and vanished. It started to rain, a heavy down pour of rain. The sky continued to rumble as lightning flashed. If Nico have to, he will turn New York upside down just to find his stupid blond.

* * *

Nico kept on popping up on different places. He also tried to catch glimpse of news from the police he encountered along the way but no such luck. He was already soaking wet by the time he turned up in an alleyway. It wasn't helping that he was starting to fade and the shadows were hunting him again. But he ignored it and continued finding Will. He just assumed that most gangsters and evil doers hide in alleys like what he usually saw in TV since he has no idea where else to search. He paused in an intersection, weighing which way to go. He looked at his right, in exact same moment that another lightning crossed the sky and it illuminated briefly something metal lying on the ground. Nico's eyes widen in recognition and ran towards that something. When he reached it, he crouched down and picked it up. It was a stethoscope.

He gripped the stethoscope hard. Who else would bring a stethoscope in this area? He looked around, there's a backpack and several medical supplies scattered around.

 _Will._ Nico thought as he continued to grip the stethoscope.

Police car siren's echoed from a far off distance. Nico vanished and followed the police car.

The police car led Nico in a building engulfed by a fire. Several fire trucks were trying to put out the fire. Polices wearing raincoats were running here and there barking some command on one another. Nico recognized the two police officers.

"Hurry up!" Jason Grace commanded the fire volunteer "There are people inside! What's the status Detective Jackson?" He turned at his fellow police officer

Percy shook his head grimly "Negative. We can't go further. The flames were too big. But I've assigned some fire volunteers at the back entrance. That's our last hope"

Jason cursed.

Nico looked up at the building. Then he froze. He could feel it.

Will's aura of death. He was inside of that building.

"Hey! Who are you!" Jason shouted at Nico. Nico looked at the two police officers

"You are a civilian" Percy shouted at him as he walked towards him "You can't be here"

 _No. You mortals cannot save my Will._ Nico thought. Then he ran at the side of the fire truck and vanished.

Percy blinked and looked around "Oi. Where is he?" He turned at Jason who shook his head. Then they both stared at the burning building in horror.

"He didn't. Did he?" Jason whispered

Percy cursed "It's impossible to go beyond. He'll be trapped too"

"Should we try the back entrance now?" Jason stared at Percy

Percy stared back

* * *

 **I've split this into two so there's the next chapter. just click it dears**


	28. XXVII - NICO

**XXVII**

 **NICO**

Nico walked around surrounded by roaring of flames. He used Will's aura of death to know where he is. The aura was getting stronger by the minute.

 _Will. I'm coming._

Then, finally, he saw Will tied to a chair. Will's face was bruised and swelled but he has no serious injury. In front of him was a very big and brute man. The man was facing back Nico. He scanned the area. Next to Will was Austin who was tied to a chair too. He was unconscious but safe. On the other side of Will was a girl lying limply on the ground, dead.

"This was all your fault!" the brute man shouted and pointed at Will "If you hadn't contact the police, we wouldn't end up this way!"

"Setting the fire wasn't my fault. Python "Will shot back "You are the one who set up the fire"

"Ha! It's better to die than to be captured" Python barked "My people are captured because of you. Now you are going to hell with me!"

"Then let Austin go!" Will said coughing from the smoke "Just take me alone"

"Noooo. The more the merrier! We are all going to hell!" Python roared in laughter

"You are insane" Will muttered still coughing

Nico clenched his fists. He was going to knock Python out when something made him stopped dead in his tracks. Black smoke appeared from a corner, and from that smoke Bob materialized. Bob looked around confused for a moment, but then when he saw Will his eyes widen.

Nico was confused too as to why Bob was here. At first he thought that the fellow death angel will help him but when Bob saw Nico, Bob froze staring at Nico.

That's when a realization dawned upon on Nico. Bob wasn't here to help. He was here to do his duty.

Bob was going to escort Will's soul.

Will was about to die.

Nico stared at Bob in horror.

"YOU PUNNY BASTARD, DIE!"

Nico whipped his head in Will's direction just in time Python raised his gun aiming at Will. Nico disappeared and reappeared in front of Python raising Python's hand. A gunshot echoed. The bullet hit the ceiling. Nico knocked off the gun from Python's hand. With an immortal strength, Nico threw Python on a cemented post. Python groaned.

"You have no right to touch my Will" Nico said quietly walking towards Python who was shaking his head in dazed.

Python looked up at Nico "Who-"

"I am your worst nightmare you bastard!" Nico kicked Python in the ribs. He was going to kick Python again, when Python got a hold of Nico's legs and twisted it. Nico cried in surprise and fell face first on the ground. This gave an opportunity for Python to stand up. He lunged at Nico but Nico sensed it and rolled on his side. He vanished. He reappeared on Python's side and punched him hard.

"How-" Python sputtered. He threw a punch at Nico but Nico vanished again. Python looked around and came face to face with Nico who punched him in the face. Python stumbled back.

Then Python looked at Nico, blood oozing down at the side of his mouth. He spat "You are not normal boy"

"I am giving you a chance. Surrender" Nico said

Python roared in laughter "And what if I don't?"

"You'll regret it"

Another laugh from Python "I am curious as to what you can do. Will you kill me? Because if you don't, I will kill all of you!"

This made Nico's blood roared in his veins. His stygian sword appeared on his hand.

"Then die" Nico's only answer then in a speed of light, he was in front of Python. The end of the sword was sticking out on Python's back.

"You have no right to live in this earth" Nico whispered on Python's ear. Nico stepped back pulling out his sword.

Python fell limply to the ground, face first. The blade of Nico's sword was stained red. The blood dripped to the floor as Nico gripped the hilt of his sword.

The sky thundered much louder and it echoed in that building as if shaking the whole area. The lightning seemed to be brighter as if to strike down everything below. The rain continued to pour ferociously.

It's all done. Nico just made a jackpot and broke the three sacred rules at once. He just interfered with the Fates by not letting Will die and of course taking the soul of a living just like what he did to Python. Charon was surely going to have a feast.

Nico's sword melt in the shadows and he vanished. He materialized in front of Will who yelped in surprise. Nico briefly looked around. Bob was gone which means Will was safe.

"N-nico. . ."

Nico said nothing and started to untie Will. After untying Will, he untied Austin too and carried him.

He walked towards Will "Let's get you out of here. The fire is getting bigger. Hold unto me"

Will followed and they vanished. They materialized in an open shed just outside the burning building. Nico lay Austin on the ground.

"N-nico" Will called out again "I-I saw what you did. . ."

Nico stood up and looked at Will "He was going to kill you. I have no choice"

"B-but. . " Will tried to held Nico's hand but his hand passed right through Nico's "W-what. . ."

"Will, listen" Nico held Will shoulder. Thankfully, his hands solidified again "I have a lot of things to say but we don't have much time left"

"It's because you broke the rules-"

"Sshh." Nico put his index finger on Will's lips "I said listen. First of all, I'm sorry. I should have been here for you when you were grieving for Naomi but how I could face you that time when I was so consumed with guilt. Thankfully, Naomi helped me clear my mind"

"M-mom?"

"I went to Elysium. I mean I went to the paradise where she is to say my apology and to ease my guilt. She also said that you shouldn't be that sad about her because she was in a better place now and she was happy"

Will nodded, smiling a little bit but then his smiled faltered when he saw Nico flickered like he was about to vanish. Shadows started to engulf him.

"N-nico. . ." Will stared at Nico in horror

"Shit" Nico cursed "Now Will, we are really running out of time. Can you do three things for me?" Nico touched Will's cheek. It passed right through at first but Nico tried again. This time his hand made contact on Will's cheek "First is, never ever stop using your glowing trick no matter what. It's a gift. Do you know that you are really handsome when you glow?Save as many lives as you can. Second. Be safe. Don't do anything reckless, like this! Or jumping off the rooftop just because you miss me. I may not be there to save your ass anymore" Nico looked away and swallowed. He let go of Will's cheek as his hand dropped limply on his side "Third. Don't wait for me anymore. I am not coming back. Find new love. Find a normal guy who can give you a normal relationship. Be happy, Will"

"How can you say that!" Will suddenly shouted "Do you think my feelings for you can be turn on and off like a switch? It's all my fault, isn't it? If you hadn't just save me-"

"Let's get all past the blaming Will or else we wouldn't finish blaming each other. Naomi said it was a sacrifice not blaming. We sacrificed for the people we love. You will do the same thing for me if you were in my position, right?"

"Besides. . . I already broke the third sacred rule on the day I first met you. Death angels aren't supposed to be in love but I did. I won't apologize that I lied to you about the last sacred rule. Because if I didn't do that, I wouldn't be this happy being with you, you made me the happiest. I didn't regret breaking every rule just to be with you."

Nico could feel it. The shadows consuming him. He reached for Will's lips and kissed him.

"Lastly, I wanted to say I love you" Nico whispered against Will's lips. Afterwards, Nico dissolved in the shadows.

The sky thundered again.

Will was staring into the empty space where Nico had been seconds ago.

A single tear slid down on Will's cheek.

* * *

 **Please review!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **~Nikki**


	29. XXVIII - NICO

**XXVIII**

 **NICO**

Will was right. Human emotions are quite fascinating. And in Nico's own opinion, human emotion can also be a scary thing. They bring out the _best_ and _beast_ in you. He was in awe to learn how powerful those emotions could be, on what humans can do when they were driven by those feelings. Humans can also be a powerful being if they wanted to be. They are powerful in their own way. Maybe Nico should take it back that _Emotions_ make one person pathetic.

Will said that it was a pity that nothing beats inside Nico's heart before. He now understood why. He also pitied those _beings_ who doesn't experience what human emotion felt like. They missed out one of the best things in earth. They missed out what it felt like to be completely whole, to feel like your existence mattered in this world. And this was the last thing that Nico di Angelo learned on his last days in this universe.

The door of his cell opened, two ghouls were there, ready to escort him for his execution. Nico just stood up without saying anything. His hands were chained. He was prepared for anything because what he experienced these past few months in earth were completely worth it.

One of the black ghouls was leading the way on the series of corridors, while the other ghoul was on Nico's back. He silently snorted as if he could go anywhere. He couldn't even shadow travel anymore.

Soon, they reached another hallway and at the end of that hallway was a big set of doors. The doors opened and they all went in. This was the first time that Nico went in Hades' throne. Everyone was prohibited inside unless you were invited. . . or of course going to be executed. Nico was in awe as he looked around. Everything was made of obsidian marble and bronze. Everything was elegant and royal that truly fits for a king.

"Nico!"

Nico turned at the direction of the voice. He stopped dead in his tracks. Near the throne was his sister Bianca, held by two skeleton guards. Charon was also there grinning maniacally at him. Nico wanted to strangle the living daylights out of Charon.

"Bianca!" Nico was about to come towards his sister but his escort ghouls held him back and led him towards the throne where Hades sat.

Nico heard countless stories about what Lord Hades looked like. Most of them said that he was a living nightmare, that you will tremble under his stare and you will choose to die instead of remembering his nightmarish face. Initially, Nico thought that they were all exaggerating but now he was face to face with the Lord of the Underworld, those stories were half truth after all. Lord Hades radiated power. Nico could feel that. And Nico was sure that Lord Hades can incinerate everything with just a flick of his fingers.

Yet, for Nico, Lord Hades looked human that resembled Adolf Hitler or Napoleon or terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers, contrary to the stories that the Lord of the Underworld looked like a big monster covered in fur. Hades was ten feet tall dressed in black robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful and dangerous as a panther.

Hades aura was affecting everyone in the room. Nico could notice that, every skeleton guards and ghouls, even Charon couldn't look directly at Hades. But Nico just felt. . . nothing. He was curious even as to what Hades can actually do.

"Lord Hades" Nico bowed in respect "Please, this was all my fault please do not include my sister in whatever punishment you will inflict. It's only me"

"Nico, no!" Bianca sobbed struggling against the skeleton guards holding her "Please Lord Hades.-"

Lord Hades raised his index finger. Bianca fell silent.

Hades stood up "Well, Nico di Angelo, you certainly caught my attention. You are the first to break all the three sacred rules at once in the living history of death angels. Even Sierra broke only one."

"My lord" Charon butted in "I already warned him of what was to come but he never listened-"

Lord Hades narrowed his eyes at Charon. Charon whimpered and fell silent. He turned back his attention at Nico.

"So, death angel, what punishment should I give you for breaking those rules. Not just any ordinary rules but Sacred Rules! I gave you a second chance at the living and this is what you will do"

Nico remained silent.

"I feel no remorse nor regret in you, di Angelo" Hades noted

Nico looked up at Hades "Because, I really don't. I kept on telling this these past few days but I don't regret anything I've done. With all due respect, Lord"

The throne room fell silent too.

"Aren't you afraid of the punishment you will face?" Hades said quietly "You will suffer for eternity"

"No"

Another silence

Hades stared at Nico. Then all of a sudden, the lord of the underworld roared in laughter. There's no humor in his laugh. The throne room trembled. The guards whimpered. Nico concluded that he already pushed his limits.

"This death angel is really something" Hades sat back on his throne shaking his head then he looked at Nico steely "I kept on thinking what is the worst punishment I could give to you, something that will suit your idiotic bravery. After you dare to violate the respected rules of the Underworld, rules that I created! When you turned back your loyalty to me! I should be giving you the worst of the worst punishment"

"Now, Nico di Angelo, suffer the consequences of your own actions. I bring you your punishment" Hades flicked his hand.

"No!" Bianca screamed

Nico could feel it. He was starting to dissolve again. He looked at Bianca, who was crying. He smiled bravely at her. Then Nico vanished.

Nico appeared on a dark place. His chains were gone. He looked around. He frowned. Then his eyes widen.

"This. . . what I. . " Nico faltered. His heart was drumming on his rib cage

Suddenly, there's a blinding light on his side and a deafening sound.

Nico screamed.

 _ **End of PART 1**_

* * *

 **Now, now, hold your horses dears. TCDL is not going to end yet. i kept on repeating on my previous AN's that there will be a PART 2 because this story is divided into two parts. I already said that I will post the part 2 next year because I only aimed to finish part 1 this year. besides, i still need to fix the the plot line for part 2. and i swear i'm starting to get a headache from plotting revenge, mutilation, massacre-just kidding. . let's just make this a fun story.**

 **So, put down your pitch forks and stop jabbing at me LOL. THERE'S GOING TO BE A PART 2/SEQUEL FOR TCDL. the part 2 will be uploaded in this book so just wait for the update of TCDL.**

 **Anyway, thank you for staying with me until the end of TCDL Part 1 and I hope I will also see you all in Part 2.**

 **Please Review and thanks for reading!**

 **Next Part: Part II: Collision**


	30. Prologue II

**_Prologue_**

 _To my dearest Will,_

 _Once in a while, Lord Hades can be generous. When you are exceptionally good in your former life, he will grant you another chance in the living, either being reborn or being a death angel like me. Bianca and I must be good in our former lives that Lord Hades gave us a chance like that. But sometimes, I wonder if it was really better that I came back to the living like this. The truth is, I truly envy those normal people who do normal activities, unlike someone who escorts souls in the afterlife. Most of the time, I wished that I was just reborn as a normal person. But then again, if I were just reborn as a normal person, would we ever meet? Would our paths crossed if I wasn't a death angel? So somehow, I couldn't really complain that I became a death angel because if it weren't for it, maybe there won't be a William Solace in my life. I am truly grateful that I met you._

 _I Love You._

 _The purpose of this letter was just so I could tell you how much you truly mean to me and how much I truly love you. I know this letter was not enough to express whatever I feel towards you. I couldn't believe it either. How could this dead heart of mine carry this huge feeling towards you Will? What did you do to my heart that it beat back alive again? Mortals said that love can make you selfish. I can attest to that. Because there are times that I want to keep you to myself, like I would be able to hold you and never let you go, always. But of course, time will always flow and we couldn't be stuck on the same moment even if sometimes we badly wanted too._

 _There's this thing that you mortals believe, it was called 'fate'. I like the idea of fate. They say that if you were truly meant to be together, no matter what the circumstances are, fate will always bring you together. If I were to be reborn again or I would be given a chance again in the living as a normal guy (hypothetically speaking) and if ever there is really this thing called fate, I would like as to meet again. Because in this world, there is no other person I would like to meet all over again, other than you, Will. Even on a different circumstances or even if I became a different person; somehow I am sure that I will still be able to recognize you because you are a part of me too._

 _You are forever going to be part of me, my favourite enemy, Will Solace._

 _Love Always,_

 _Nico di Angelo_

* * *

 ***dramatic drum rolls* The saga continues, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Part II of TCDL. Okay, so enough drama. Do you still remember the letter that Nico wrote for Will in the previous chapter? I couldn't think of any better intro for the Part II, so here it is. Initially i wasn't even planning on revealing Nico's letter but wth! LOL**

 **Happy New Year dears!**

 **Please Review and thanks for reding!**


	31. XXIX - WILL

**PART II**

 **COLLISION**

* * *

 **XXIX**

 **WILL**

 _ **Eight months later. . .**_

"Doc, the blood pressure is dropping"

"Transfuse more blood" Will ordered

"He just went into an arrest this is the second one"

"Inject epinephrine. Give me the defibrillator" Will started to glow "Set to 20J" He started to shock the heart

The heart monitor was still flat line

"Again" Will said. In the corner of the operating room, a black figure appeared. Will's glow got brighter

There was still no response from the heart monitor

"It's hypovolemic shock doc, it's impossible-"

Will's blue eyes blazed as he looked up at the doctor standing opposite to him "So? You'll just going to give up? What if this person still wanted to live but now you are not giving him a chance to do that."

Will started to massage the heart with his hand. He gazed at the corner of the operating room where a death angel was waiting.

 _I'm sorry. You cannot have him._

The lines on the heart monitor started to rise again. The death angel vanished and Will's glow faded. Will sighed in relief.

"Now, you suture the ruptured blood vessel" Will ordered to the doctor

"B-but I can't. . "

"Do you want the patient die?"

"N-no"

"Then do it"

* * *

Will walked out the operating room scratching his head. He yawned. He was starting to imagine himself lying on a bed and sleep like there's no tomorrow.

"Dr. Solace!"

Will looked back. A girl in a green scrubs was running towards him. She was the doctor who assisted Will in the surgery earlier. She's a resident and her name was Agatha.

Agatha was slightly catching her breath when she reached the blond doctor. She spoke "T-thank you for letting me assist on the surgery even though I'm just a first year resident"

"I also assisted in my first year of residency so it's not a big deal. However, I don't like how you acted inside the OR earlier" Will stated

Agatha bowed her head

"Oncevyou hold a scalpel and cut through the patient's skin, keep in mind that you are also battling against the impossible and self-doubt has no place inside the OR. The patient's live is depending on your capability as a surgeon" Will said shoving his hands inside the pocket of his scrub shirt.

"Is that your secret, doc?" Agatha asked

Will blinked "What?"

"Well. . ." Agatha cleared her throat blushing "All the residents here, sort of idolize you because you are the youngest surgeon who has the lowest mortality rate. You even featured in a magazine recently.. . so you are really popular especially among the girl residents and you are handsome too. . ." Agatha was beet reed

Will blinked again. _This girl. . You can't possibly._ Will didn't know whether to laugh at the situation. He just shook his head "It's not a secret. It's a fact that every surgeon should know about. Besides, I'm just fulfilling someone else's wish. . ."

"Wish?" Agatha said

Will waved his hand dismissively "Never mind. Go ahead. And oh, check on Mrs. Jones' CT scan. See if she's really clear of clotting in the aorta"

"Yes, doc" Agatha turned and walked away

"Tsk, tsk. I told you to toughen up on the new residents!"

Will looked at the direction of the voice and saw Kayla, Lou and Cecil walking towards him. Will just smiled a little bit.

"They should also experience the hell we had experienced when we were on our first year residency!" Kayla added

"I don''t do revenge, Doc Knowles" Will said "But, I have a question, do the residents didn't know that I am gay . .?"

The three looked at each other.

"Is there a girl resident who confessed to you already?" Cecil asked eagerly

"HUH?"

"Just answer us, Will!" Lou insisted

"There's no one! Agatha just said that I am kind of popular among the girls so maybe they didn't-"

The latter three threw their heads in laughter

"Oh my gods, I didn't know that they really fell for it" Kayla was clutching her stomach in laughter

Will narrowed his eyes on them, hands on his hips "You did something again, didn't you?"

Lou was still laughing "It was Cecil's idea really but it was brilliant. Since we only started to accept residents again this year and those girls started to notice you because you were a kick ass in the OR, we decided to keep silent about you being gay and just let them fall heads over heels for you and maybe encourage them a little bit. . ."

Will hit them in the head one by one "You little!-"

Cecil ducked "What! It was fun seeing them all gooey eyes on you doc, you should have seen it. Besides, most of the docs from the surgery department go along with it"

Another laughter from the three

"You cannot just play with their feelings like that! You know what, I am going to tell them-"

"No!" Kayla held his arm "You can't. We still have the bet-"

"A bet" Will repeated

The three started to back away

"What bet?" Will stepped forward

"Nothing!" Kayla squeaked "You know, I just remembered that I need to remove stitches from one of my patients, so. . ."

"I also remembered that I need to give vitamin shots on the patients at the 12th floor" Lou added

"I also need to go back to lab to analyze some blood samples. . ." Cecil chimed in

"Now, you suddenly remembered all of your duties, huh? I SAID WHAT BET?"

"NOTHING!" The three ran away

* * *

"Willie!" Kayla jumped on Will's back as she put her arm around his shoulder. Their shifts just ended and they were at the lobby heading out the hospital "Let's eat breakfast. My treat"

"I'll pass" Will said

"You are still mad at us, aren't you?" Kayla said letting go of Will and facing him. Will halted.

"We were just betting a few bucks on it. I swear!" Kayla raised her hand as if she's pledging "Besides, we just wanted to know who has the guts to confess to you and the bet will expire at the end of the month. Just so you know I am so going to lose because I bet that there would be at least two residents. . ."

Will stared at Kayla

"We are not going to repeat it. Promise!" Kayla said immediately

Will just shook his head "I am not mad about that. I'll just need to go somewhere that's why I can't go with you. . ."

"Again?" Kayla asked "Seriously where do you always go this early? Perhaps. ."

"Don't" Will warned

"What?"

"You are going to say his name" Will said

"So what? It's not like Nico's name is a curse. Are you perhaps going to see him? You know you don't have to keep it a secret"

"I am not. Besides, he's gone. I kept on repeating that to you" Will sighed exasperatedly

"Did you really break up? As in gone for good? Are you sure there's no chance for reconciliation and all that?" Kayla frowned

"Yes. Now I'll have to go. Bye" Will walked passed her

Kayla stared at Will's retreating figure.

* * *

Will went in a deserted alley. He kept on turning on several corners. The first time he came here which was last year, he was spooked out. He didn't like the vibes that this alley radiated. But after a while of coming back almost every day, the goose bumps that always crawled on his skin faded. He got used to it. For most people who lived in Manhattan, they called this place as Hell's kitchen. But for some people that Will knew, this was an entrance to the Underworld.

He stopped in front of an abandoned recording studio. Nico had told him once before that there's an entrance in the Underworld that was located in Manhattan. Not just an entrance but a place where the death angels assigned in New York brought the souls who went in the afterlife.

He took a deep breath and he reached up for the big lock of the double doors of the studio. Will started to glow then he tugged the lock. The lock opened. But before Will could do anything, a strong gust of wind appeared and threw Will on a cemented post.

Will groaned, sliding down on the wall. He ended up sitting limply on the ground. Will cursed. It was just purely by accident, the first time that Will came here and discovered that he could open the lock with his glow. He was desperate that time, to have some answers on what happened to him.

To Nico.

Will shut his eyes tightly. Just thinking Nico's name or saying his name out loud, it hurt. Every part of Will still hurt. The hurt was worse than being thrown on a wall from time to time. Maybe it was his punishment too. It's been eight months since Nico faded in the shadows but the feeling was still fresh like it only happened yesterday. When Will wanted to punish himself more, all he needed to do was hold onto that stupid lock and glow. He almost broke his neck doing that stunt but then he wanted to feel it too, the pain that Nico was currently experiencing because of the punishment. They should be suffering together.

"Do you really want to die?"

Will's head whipped up. In front of him, Bianca di Angelo was standing. She was wearing a black crop top over a black lapel jacket paired with (obviously) black jeans and boots. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail.

"Bianca!" Will gasped. After eight months of torture, this was the first time that a death angel talked to him. Sure, he was seeing them in the hospital but before he could make a move to approach them, they vanished immediately. Will tried to stand up but pain shot on his back shoulder. He grimaced holding his shoulder. It will surely bruise.

"Why can't you just go away?" Bianca said exasperatedly "Live your life and all that crap. Just stay away from the Dead. This isn't your territory"

"C-Cant. I need to know what happened to Nico. . ."

"He was punished. End of the story" Bianca's voice was strained

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know that Nico would suffer like that" Will started to sob. He covered his face with his hands

"I told you before to stay away from him but you never listened. Now look what happened to him" Bianca said

Will looked up at her "Then punish me too. Kill me if you want. I can't just let Nico suffer all alone"

"Now you are turning me into a murderer" Bianca rolled her eyes "Just let Nico go. Move on. Forget about him. There's nothing you could do about him"

Will stared at Bianca

"Stay away from the Dead and forget about Nico, Solace. Live your life without him" Bianca said then she snapped her fingers. Will started to get drowsy then his eyelids started to get heavy. Then there's blackness.

 _Lastly, I wanted to say I love you. . ._

Will's eyes snapped open and he jolted upright. The pain on his shoulders hit him again making him winced. He blinked and looked around. Of all the places that Bianca would send him to, it has to be the rooftop of his apartment building. Will stared ahead.

The edge of the rooftop was now fenced. So no one could go jumping on the edge of the rooftop when they feel like it. Will was shocked the first time he saw it. He immediately went to the landlady to give his thanks that she finally granted Will's request. However, he was shocked to learn that the fenced rooftop wasn't because of Will's request but _someone_ _forcedly_ put it up there.

It was Nico. All black emo type guy, pale as a ghost and brooding type as the landlady described him.

You see, Nico's presence seemed to be everywhere so how could Will easily forget about him and when everything reminded him of Nico?

* * *

"WILLIAM SOLACE!"

Will cringed and he halted. The people around him paused briefly and looked at him. He shoved his hands on the pockets of the cardigan he was wearing. He was going to kill Kayla.

Kayla held his arm "AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?"

"Did you perhaps swallowed a megaphone?" Will sighed "And have you noticed that we are just less than a meter apart? You don't have to shout! And I am going home, I'm tired"

"NO! YOU NEED TO STOP THIS BULLSHIT SOLACE"

The people walking in the sidewalks were surely giving them an attention.

"How come resting is a bullshit?" Will shot back "Am I not allowed to rest now?"

"No" Kayla glared at him crossing her arms "You are avoiding us. You are imprisoning yourself in your little miserable world. You're overworking yourself again. You seldom laugh or smile unlike before, your once bright blue eyes turned dull. Not to mention, that bruises seemed to appear mysteriously on your body-don't deny it! There's a large bruise on your back. I saw it when you are changing your scrub shirt. We are worried Will." Kayla said

Will looked away "I just slipped in the bathroom"

"Oh yeah? That's also your damn reason when you had to wear a neck brace before. You are not that clumsy Will." Kayla said then exhaled "I know it's all because of Nico but-"

"I said, don't mention his name!"

"Nico. . ."

"I said stop it"

"No, Nico. .. "

"KAYLA!" At this point of time, it doesn't matter to Will if the whole Manhattan was watching them now.

"No, Will. .." Kayla pointed something behind him.

Will turned around to look where she was pointing. He froze. He sucked in breath.

On the other side of the street, Nico di Angelo was standing. He was holding a phone against his ear talking to someone.

The situation wasn't making any sense to Will. He unconsciously started to walk but Kayla held his arm.

"Do you want to get hit by a car? The traffic light is still green!" Kayla hissed

Twenty seconds before the traffic light turn red. The excruciatingly longest 20 seconds in Will's life. Ten seconds before red light, Nico pocketed his phone and turned around. For a moment, Will panicked on the thought that he was going away and he was going to be out of Will's sight again but then Nico went inside the nearby café.

The traffic light turned red. Will ran.

When he reached the café, his heart was pounding on his rib cage. There inside the café, Nico was sitting and talking to another blond guy.

Will touched the glass window, the only thing that separated them. Nico's complexion that used to be pale was now olive. His hair seemed to be longer so he had to tie it, still strands of black hair fell on the side of his head, shorter strands covered his forehead. He was wearing a gray long sleeves, black jeans and a low cut black sneakers. Nico seemed to be livelier.

"Why are you just standing there!" Kayla hissed at him again, she was standing on his side "He changed a little bit but that's definitely Nico! Go inside!" Kayla shoved him inside the café.

Will's lips was dry as a paper when he reached Nico' seat. Nico was facing back at him so he didn't notice Will yet, but the blond guy opposite to Nico looked up at Will.

"N-Nico. .. " Will whispered

Nico turned around and looked up at Will. His eyes widen but then he frowned.

"Um, who are you?" Nico asked

* * *

 **Um, you know, I didn't mean to leave another cliffhanger but since i already finished this chapter i just decided to upload it so you won't wait any longer. At least, you already have an idea what's going to happen in Part 2 *evil smirk***

 **But then I'm also a little bit nervous about this i dont even know why LOL**

 **So dears, please review!**

 **Thank you for reading and subscribing on TCDL! It was a motivation to create a new chapter :)**

 **~Nikki**


	32. XXX - WILL

**XXX**

 **WILL**

 _Wait_

 _What?_

There's a moment of stunned silence after Nico spoke. Kayla was the first one to recover.

"Are you kidding me?" Kayla said flabbergasted

Will hoped that it was just really a joke but Nico looked genuinely confused as he looked back and forth between Kayla and Will.

 _How could it possibly. . ._

"I… I'm. ." Will faltered. From the corner of his eyes, something caught his attention. He saw Bianca di Angelo standing just outside the cafe. Then she vanished.

 _Could it be. . .?_

Will looked back at Nico who was waiting for an answer. Will swallowed "I'm. . . I'm probably mistaken" He forced a smile "You know mistaken identity"

"What the-" Kayla tried to say but Will covered her mouth

"I'm so sorry to interrupt. We'll go ahead" Will turned around and dragged Kayla out the cafe as Kayla wrestled from his grip.

When they were out of the café, Will let go of Kayla

"What the hell Will?" Kayla exclaimed glaring at Will

Will opened his mouth to answer

"Wait!"

The two looked at the direction of the voice and saw Nico standing right outside the door. Nico walked to them. Will's heart started to pound again

"You" Nico stopped in front of Will and stared up at him "Do you really not know me?"

"Yes" Will tried his best to maintain a poker face even though his insides felt like they're going to explode

"But I heard you" Nico said "You said my name"

Will looked away "I told you. It was a mistaken identity. You just looked like someone I knew. Coincidentally, you have the same name"

"Is that so?" Nico scratched his head "I just thought that you probably know me. I'm sorry. My brain is a little messed up because of that stupid incident"

That got Will's attention "Incident? What incident?"

Nico frowned "Never mind. I'll go ahead" Then he turned around and headed back at the café.

When Nico was out of sight and earshot, Kayla spoke "What was that? Does he have amnesia? He said that he got into an incident? Did he hit his head or something?"

"I don't know" Will murmured

Then suddenly Kayla hit his arm that made Will flinched "And what was that all about mistaken identity crap? That's definitely Nico!"

Not from afar, Bianca reappeared. Will saw her immediately

"Uh, you know. I have something to do first" Will said facing Kayla

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry but I'll explain later okay? Trust me on this one, please?" Will pleaded

Kayla sighed "Fine. But I need an explanation, Solace. You hear me?"

Will nodded

"Okay. Go"

"Thanks" Will kissed Kayla's cheek and went off

* * *

Bianca and Will were sitting opposite to each other in a coffee shop. Bianca sipped on her mug of black coffee.

"You know what happened to Nico all this time, didn't you?" Will began

"Not just long ago. I found him in a hospital" Bianca answered

Will leaned forward "He mentioned something about incident? What was that all about?"

"Oh, because I love to torture you, find that yourself, doc" Bianca smirked

Will clenched his teeth "Fine. What about his memories? Does he really forget everything? Or you are not going to answer that as well?"

"Well about that, it's true. His memories have been wiped. He doesn't remember about his death angel life. That also includes you, Will Solace. The mist also altered the memories of the people around him so it will be connected in the present time. You know him being born on late 1930's" Bianca crossed her arms leaning back on her chair.

"That was his punishment, wasn't it?" Will said quietly

"Smart" Bianca said "Nico was not afraid of receiving eternal physical pain, he might even laugh while being tortured. So Hades thought it wasn't enough of a punishment. Thus, the cruellest punishment he can give to Nico, was to take away the most precious thing to him and that is his memories with you. Nico might probably spend his time thinking something important but cannot remember what that is and that will frustrate him. Nico also stripped out of his immortality"

Will didn't answer

"But you know there's something I don't understand about it" Bianca added "I don't understand why Hades brought back Nico in the mortal world when he can bring Nico in the fields of Asphodel. Oh just so you know, that's the place in the underworld where you can lose your memories and identity thus becoming like a machine. I think that's crueler than bringing Nico here where he can start a new life"

"So you want your brother to experience something worse?" Will retorted

"No. But Hades was so furious at that time. Nico just didn't break the rules of Underworld that time. He caused a chaos in the Underworld that surely gave Hades a massive headache"

"What chaos?" Will frowned

"I believe you already knew about Nico going to the Elysium just so he could meet your mom. Do you know what happened when Nico spent his time in the Elysium for a long time, what will happen to his job?"

"Nico failed to escort the souls to the afterlife" Will realized "Those souls will wander around and be a ghost"

Bianca nodded "Death angels keep the balance between the dead and the living. Nico was gone for two weeks in a mortal's time. Do you know how many souls he failed to escort that time? A lot of people are dying per day so imagine death angels going frantic just to relieve the job that Nico neglected at the same time doing their own job. On the top of it, we weren't able to retrieve some of those souls"

"Why?"

"They disappeared"

"Where would they go?"

"That's what we've been wondering too. Souls couldn't just disappear. So I was thinking, maybe that's the reason why Nico was sent here to clean the mess he made himself" Bianca sighed scratching her head in frustration "But then, how could he do it in his state right now? He was even a mortal now"

"All I know is, there are a lot of things that happened on that date, October 20. I know Hades was hiding something. I have to investigate further. This can't be just purely coincidence that Nico's incident happened on the same day he rescued you, that's another tip for you doc" Bianca said

"Nico's incident happened the same day he left me?" Will asked

Bianca nodded "Oh, I was curious about one thing, why did you lie to Nico? Why didn't you tell him who you really are?"

"I got afraid that he will be in trouble again because of me. I realized instantly that it must have been his punishment. You know to forget about me. Besides, how could I tell him about me? What am I supposed to tell him? I can't just spring it up to him that I was his boyfriend -ex-boyfriend when he was a death angel, can I? All his life he had been longing to be a normal person. Now that it came true somehow, how could I tarnish that? I couldn't just be that selfish anymore. He sacrificed so much for me. It's just proper that I return the favour." Will looked down at his un-touch mug of coffee

"Then what are you going to do now?"

"For eight months, I spent every night having nightmares of Nico being tortured because of that stupid punishment. It must be a miracle that I haven't gone insane yet. It was a torture for me too not knowing what truly happened to him, thinking all the worst case scenario that could happen to him. Every breath for me was painful because it was so unfair that I was here and Nico was somewhere else being punished. Now that I see him alive, well and living a normal life like what he always dreamed of, it was a huge relief. All I wanted right now is to know how he is and that is already enough for me. So if you really like me to go away from your brother's life. I'll do it now. I'm so sorry for all the troubles I've caused to your brother" Will stood up and headed out the coffee shop

Bianca tilted her head as she watched Will's retreating figure "What, I didn't say anything about going away"

When Will stepped out the coffee shop, he took a deep breath. Then he fished out his phone from the pocket of his jeans. After dialling a certain number he held it against his ear

"Hello Percy" Will spoke "Um, can you do me a favour?"

* * *

 **Double update just so I can make it up to you guys**


	33. XXXI - NICO

**XXXI**

 **NICO**

 _Blue eyes_

 _Blond hair_

Nico had been in a long sleep. He had been told that he was in comatose for 3 months due to a hit and run incident that happened to him last October. Within that long sleep, he had these repetitive dreams of flashes of blond hair and blue eyes. Blond hair and blue eyes that belongs to someone he didn't know. . . or remember, at least.

You see, Nico's mind was a little bit messed up. He didn't remember that he has a half sister, yet he kept looking for his other sister whom he didn't remember dying ages ago. He didn't remember having a female friend named Reyna because Nico initially thought that he has this male big brute friend, although he didn't remember the name of this big brute friend of his. Was it Ben? Bart? Bill?

Basically, Nico was having retrograde amnesia, thus unable to remember his former life before the incident.

Even though, that was the case, Nico felt like that nothing in his life right now felt familiar to him. Their apartment in Queens, his family, his friends and his own life, was he always been a university student for his master's degree in forensic medicine? Was he always been passionate about forensic medicine that's why he even took a master's degree on it? Was being a CSI always been his dream? Was he always been searching for part time jobs even though his sister was insisting that he doesn't have to since their family was well off? What kind of person is Nico di Angelo?

His psychiatrist said not to force himself to remember everything in his life, just continue living normally. But how can he live normally when it felt like something was always missing every time he was going to wake up in the morning.

Nico paused at the intersection as he looked around the towering buildings of Manhattan. He smiled a little bit. At least, he felt at ease while being here, as if his whole life has been here in this city. But that's another strange thing, according to his half sister Hazel, he's been living in Italy and finished his studies there. He just went to New York for vacation with her and later on decided to take master's degree at NYU.

Nico took a deep breath and closed his eyes. There were a lot of things that didn't make any sense to him but for the past five months he learned to roll with it even though it was really frustrating at times and his temper was running thin. There's nothing he could do about it anyway. His brain refused to give him anything about his past life. . . well, maybe except for. . .

His phone suddenly vibrated at his jeans' pocket that made him jump in surprise. He shook his head dismissing his thoughts. He fished out his phone from his pocket and answered.

"Hey, Reyna" Nico held the phone on his ear

"So how's the date, lover boy?" A woman on the other line said. There's a hint of smile in her voice

"Don't call me that" Nico said annoyed. He started to walk and cross the street together with the other people who were eager to get on the other side of the street.

"Anyway, I messed it up" Nico added casually

"What? Why?"Reyna asked in surprise

Nico sighed reaching the sidewalks and turned in the corner with no particular destination in mind "My head started to hurt so I had to end it early. Harry probably thought me as weird now"

"Are you okay now? What happened? Why did your head started to hurt again all of a sudden?"Reyna said in concern

"I'm okay now. The ache subsided a moment ago. As for the sudden ache. . ." Nico trailed off

 _It happened right after he met the other blond who has the same bright blue eyes and who interrupted his date. . ._

"As for the ache?" Reyna prompted

"Nothing" Nico said on the other line "It just happened"

"Did you remember anything somehow?"

"Nothing again" Nico said

"That's all right. Don't-"

"-Force myself" Nico finished "I know."

"Good. Now where are you since your date finished early? Let's have lunch together. I am still at the NYPD" Reyna answered

"Okay. I'll go there. I think I'm already a few blocks away"

"Okay. See you" Reyna hang up

Nico pocketed his phone and continued his way. Moments later he was in front of New York Police Department. His friend Reyna Avilla Ramirez Arellano was a detective there. She got transferred to Manhattan from Queens at the start of this year and fortunately, his hit and run incident case was also transferred to her, so Reyna was investigating on it full time. Yet even though how hard she worked at the case, they were still stuck. Like for example, it was still a mystery why Nico was at that place? What was Nico doing there in the first place?

"I told you not to think too much!"

Nico turned his head to the side and saw Reyna walking towards him. She was looking at him with piercing black eyes, her hands on her hips. Her black glossy hair was, as always, in a single braid over her shoulder.

"What?" Nico snorted "You don't even know if I was really thinking something or just staring in the nothingness"

"A person who was staring in nothingness was usually lost in his own thoughts!" Reyna retorted back

"And where did you get that crap?" Nico said flatly

This made Reyna smiled "Fine. Fine. You win the argument Mr. Di Angelo. So where should we eat?"

Nico opened his mouth to answer

"And don't you dare tell McDonalds. I am seriously going to skin you alive if you did" Reyna pointed her index finger at Nico

"What's wrong with McDonalds" Nico grumbled

"Tell me the truth, is McDonalds secretly paying you to endorse them? Tsk. You're looking for a part time right. You just be an endorser of that red fast food with creepy mascot" Reyna shook his head "Anyway, I am craving garlic bread. Let's eat somewhere with garlic bread." Then she started to drag Nico who was still pouting silently.

"So there's no 2nd date with Larry now?" Reyna leaned her arms on the edge of the table after they ordered their food. They were on a booth sitting opposite to each other

"Harry" Nico corrected crossing his arms "There will be probably no more since it felt like I freaked him out earlier. Well, I acted strange because my head really hurt earlier, all of a sudden"

Reyna frowned "You're taking your medications properly, right?"

"Yes, I am, granny" Nico nodded

Reyna glared at him

Nico shrugged

Reyna sighed "But then, I am curious. Don't think I haven't notice, why is it always blond with blue eyes? Do you have a thing for those? You are always having blind dates with guys with those characteristics"

Nico stared at Reyna. Right. No one knows about his delusions about blond and blue eyes except his psychiatrist. How could he tell them about that? What would he say? What would he say on something he didn't even know? Especially to Reyna, being a detective and all, she might think that whomever that is, might be a suspect to his incident. There's nothing much to tell aside from the blond and blue eyes. . . and the bittersweet feeling he would have just thinking about that.

"I don't know" Nico said casually "I may prefer those kinds of physical feature"

Reyna nodded "You know in the past, you never took interest in blond and blue eyes. So I am kind of surprise that your preference change. . ."

Yes, the past that always felt like blank to him.

"Are you sure I don't have. . ." Nico hesitated ". . I don't have someone special . . I've forgotten somehow.. . ?"

Reyna smiled "Like significant other?"

 _So what do you prefer, boyfriend? Partner? Significant other?_

 _Significant annoyance in your case_

 _Blond hair_

 _Blue eyes_

Nico stared at Reyna, his mouth slightly open.

A single tear slid down from his eyes.

"Hey, Nico, what's happening, are you crying?" Reyna asked a little bit alarmed

Nico immediately touched his cheek. It was wet. He stared at his fingers wet with his tear

What was that?

Right, for the first time after waking up from a long sleep, a new fuzzy memory resurfaced. Now Nico was really sure that there's something about those blond hair and blue eyes. His heart was hammering on his rib cage suddenly. Nico clutched his chest. Why was he acting like this all of a sudden?

 _Blond hair_

 _Blue eyes_

Who are you really?

* * *

 **oo00oo**

Two detectives exited the NYPD. One has blond hair and electric blue eyes with eyeglass and other one has a jet black hair and sea green eyes.

"Hey what should we eat for lunch? I'm hungry" Jason Grace nudged his fellow detective Percy Jackson.

But Percy didn't answer instead he was looking at the distance. Jason followed Percy's gaze and saw their fellow detective, Detective Ramirez-Arellano was talking to a guy.

"Huh? Isn't that Detective Ramirez-Arellano? Who was she talking to? A boyfriend?" Jason wondered out loud and then frowned "But then. . . why am I having this feeling that I've seen that guy before?"

"That guy's familiar to me." Percy suddenly said still looking at the latter two from the distance "I've seen his picture on a file case"

Jason whipped his head to Percy "What case? Is he a criminal?"

"No, the opposite, he's a victim of a hit and run case"

"Really? But how did you know that? You are on homicide division" Jason raised an eyebrow

Percy sighed "Doc Solace asked me a favour so I've been poking on unsolved traffic incidents files and I'm sure Detective Ramirez-Arellano is going to kill me for that"

"Dr. Solace asked you to look for traffic incident files? Why and whose files?"

Percy pointed at the retreating figure of the guy and the female detective "That guy. Nico di Angelo. And that's what I intended to know why Dr. Solace is asking what happened to Nico di Angelo. What's their relation exactly?"

"But you do realize that you shouldn't be disclosing cases-related information to a random civilian right?" Jason said

"Who said Doc is just a random someone. He's our friend and he saved our lives!" Percy said "Just zip your mouth about this and we'll be fine"

Jason mimicked on zipping up his lips "And what are you going to do with Detective Ramirez-Arellano, she's going to skewer you alive if she knew that you were poking on her case files without her permission"

Percy sighed "Should I quit being a police officer now and hid in the deepest part of Amazon forest?"

Jason nodded "You should, for your sake. You can't even lie to her. I swear she's like a walking lie detector!"

"I know" Percy said grimly "Let's eat while I'm thinking of ways on how to avoid a walking lie detector. Should I ask Annabeth? She's a genius when it comes to strategic planning"

* * *

 **PLEASE READ: did you notice the circle marks up there? that means it's going to be a scene out of the POV of the main characters and i'm going to make sure that it was short. those scenes are kind of relevant. the plot is getting bigger and i don't like adding new POV aside from Nico and Will so i had to add those to make other scenes make sense to you guys. and the story is getting complicated too, Do you even like complications? Well, I do. That adds drama to the story. LOL. And if you somehow read my other fanfic _Enchanted -_ a jelsa fic, you may already have an idea how complicated i write LOL**

 **So, I'm back and still alive. lol. i've been so busy being stress about my own life that's why I couldnt update even if i wanted to. anyway, as you might have noticed new characters got involved in this twisted story lol. there are more people that are going to be introduced in the later chapters so stay tuned.**

 **I apologize for the long wait. I hope i still have readers out there! Hi! i'm going to do my best to update regularly. Or if it took me too long before i updated i make sure that it's a double (or triple update) so your wait will be worth it.**

 **PS: I have nothing against McDonalds LOL. In fact, i love their fries :D**

 **PLEASE REVIEW GUYS! THANKSSS**


	34. XXXII - WILL

**XXXII**

 **WILL**

"On the 20th of October, 11:45 p.m., Nico di Angelo was hit by an unknown car at E 113th st. No known witnesses have been found until now. Security cameras were also down at the scene so the police don't have any leads to solve this case" Percy Jackson narrated. He shifted on his seat.

He was at the lobby of Jupiter Half-Blood Hospital early in the morning with Will Solace who was sitting opposite to Percy.

Will drummed his fingers on the table "Why Nico was there?"

Percy raised his index finger "That my friend is another mystery. We don't have any idea why Nico was there. Well, Nico was having amnesia so that's another dead end for the police. All we had was the footage of Nico leaving Queens via subway at eight p.m. and the testimony of his sister of their last talk. Nico told her that he had something urgent to do even though it was late at night and according to his sister, he was leaving in a hurry"

"Sister?" Will raised his eyebrow "I thought his sister died"

Percy frowned at Will's statement "Yes, his sister Bianca di Angelo died before but Nico has another sister, half-sister. They live in Queens"

Will exhaled scratching his head. _Just how much the Mist had altered?_ He thought frustratingly. Because he was pretty sure that Nico was still in the underworld that time probably talking to his dead mother and he didn't know what to make of this half-sister cover story.

"What was his life like before the incident?" Will asked again

"He was initially living in Italy and occasionally coming to New York to visit his sister. But last year fall, he decided to live here and continue his master's degree in Forensic Medicine at NYU"

Will's mouth was slightly open. He was also pretty sure that Nico getting a master's degree in a university was _his_ cover up story before. Now should he be creep out that it got real? As if it was a verification that Nico was really a . . . human before. But then, Will held that thought. On the second thought, none of those were real. It was all made by some . . . _magic hooka-looka or whatever._ Because the only truth and real was, Nico was once a selfless death angel who was stripped out of wings because of a punishment.

Percy cleared his throat that brought Will out of his reverie "You spaced out, doc"

"Sorry" Will said sheepishly "It's just that... A lot of things are going in my head right now"

Percy nodded and leaned his arms on the edge of the table "Now, it was my turn to ask. What was your relation to Nico di Angelo, you seemed to know Nico"

Will expected this that Percy will ask, he's a police detective after all.

"Since Nico has an amnesia, I was probably a forgotten friend and enemy . . ." Will trailed off

"Enemy?" Percy's eyebrow quirked up

Will waved his hand "It was an inside joke nothing serious and you can't suspect me being involve on his incident I was strapped in a gurney that time because the doctors wouldn't believe I was fine after Python's case. It was a solid alibi for me"

Percy stared at Will "Yeah, it's hard for me to believe it either at first, you just jumped from a third floor window to escape and you didn't even sustain any broken bones that time, same as for Austin" Percy exhaled "Anyway, I trust my detective instincts so don't worry about it. I believe in you now"

Will smiled a little bit "Thank you, Percy. How was Sofia?"

The detective's face lit up at the mention of his daughter "Great. She's good" Then he sighed "She's nocturnal these past few days, always asleep at day and awake at night. I couldn't remember now when was the last time Annabeth and I had a normal sleep"

Will laughed "That's pretty normal for a 3 month old baby"

"Well, it was all worth it, she's like a sunshine in our house, my mother adores her so much she couldn't put Sofia down in the crib. I think sometimes, Annabeth is getting jealous of that"

Both doctor and detective laughed

"How about Austin? How was he?" Percy asked "And where is he this time?"

"Austin and Dad are currently in London. After the adoption of Austin they were inseparable" Will shook his head smiling "Maybe because they were both music maniacs and according to Dad, Austin is a good assistant during his shows, so yeah."

Percy smiled "Good for that kid, after all that he went through, I'm glad he's living a good life now, thanks to you, doc"

Will waved his hand "It's nothing. Ever since I came across with that kid and learning his difficult situation, I always felt like a big brother to him and had this responsibility to him. It's not always I felt this kind of thing with my patients so I just did what I thought was right"

"Well, our chat was getting longer and I still need to go and start my day at the station" Percy stood up

Will stood up too "Thanks a lot Percy, for your help. It means a lot"

Percy nodded "By the way, I was just curious, you said that Nico was a friend, did you already meet?"

Will shove his hands on the pockets of his lab coat "We did. But of course he didn't recognize me and I think it's better that way. Maybe there's a reason why he forgot everything including me. I don't intend to introduce myself anymore since it's been a long time since we talked and maybe we have to go on our separate ways. Even though that was the case I always wish him well and a happy life"

As Percy watched the doctor's retreating figure, it didn't escape on his notice the wistful look on Will's eyes. The detective briefly wondered if there's something more than what Will was telling about Nico.

The second Will entered the on-call room, he was bombarded by questions of his friends Lou and Cecil who were sitting behind the table where Will's laptop was. Several thick medical books were scattered across the table since Will was doing his dissertation.

Kayla was there too, lying on the bed but awake.

"Is it really true that Nico had some sort of incident and currently has an amnesia?" Lou asked

"It's true" Will answered lazily walking towards the table. He sat in front of his laptop, opposite to Lou and Cecil.

"And you're not going to do anything about it? Like remind him that you are the love of his life or something?" Lou asked

"Babe, you're starting to sound like Nurse Drew" Cecil commented "Besides, it's not _'are'_ but ' _were'_. Past tense. They broke up"

"And that's the reason why I am not going to do anything about it now. It's all in the past" Will said again as he busily saved his files and shut down his laptop so he could go home.

Lou frowned "Are you really okay with that?"

"Of course" Will started to arrange and stack the medical books. He stood up and brought some of the books back the shelf.

"Of course it's not okay." Kayla suddenly said sitting up "All this time, he still loves Nico. Why do you think he's miserable like crap? Don't lie in our face blondie. I know for a fact that your wallpaper on your phone is still the picture of you and Nico together"

Will ignored her and bent down to put the remaining books in the lower shelf.

Lou spoke "Is there really no chance that you two can be back together? You obviously love each other to death and-"

Will slammed his fist at the top of the shelf. The shelf was metal so sound made the latter three jumped in surprise.

"Yes" Will said with his back to them "We love each other but that love brought nothing but chaos. I love him but that love couldn't even save him. So I'm pleading all of you to just stop. It's my decision. There's nothing I can do but move on"

Despite the confusion of his statement, the latter three chose to remain silent.

Will's phone vibrated on his pocket. He picked it up and held the phone against his ear.

"Yes, all right, I'll go down there" Will said shortly and hung up. He pocketed his phone.

He turned around "I'll go down to the ER" Then he left the room.

"I'll go too. I may be needed there" Lou said hastily and followed Will

"I'll go back to the lab too" Cecil said

"What happened here" Will said as he stopped at the side of the bed of an unconscious patient. The patient has a dark complexion and has a shoulder length curly cinnamon brown hair. She was wearing a sophisticated cobalt blue dress.

"According to the paramedic, she lost consciousness, blood pressure 100/70, temperature 101.48 °F." Nurse Drew said as Will checked the woman's eyes with his small flash light.

"Did you already call the lab for test?" He called as he checked the heart rate with his stethoscope.

"The med tech was on the way" Drew answered

"Med tech's here" Cecil announced as he stopped on the other side of the bed. Will stood straighter as he pulled down the earplugs of stethoscope from his ear. The stethoscope hung around his neck.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Lou appeared too

Will stared at the patient for a moment "Attached an IV, 150 ml with 0.9 % sodium chloride"

Lou nodded

"Who is the patient, by the way?" Will turned his attention to nurse Drew shoving his hands on his lab coat's pockets

"Hazel Levesque, doc. She's with someone outside the ER" the nurse said

"Good. I need to talk to that someone while waiting for the lab results" Will said and walked out the ER together with Drew.

The nurse pointed to a woman in a suit and pencil skirt. Her hair was knotted in a perfect bun. Will walked towards the woman

"Hi. I'm Dr. Solace" Will greeted the woman

The woman turned to him

"I'm in charge with Ms. Hazel Levesque" Will continued

"How is she? Is she okay?" The woman asked worriedly

"For the mean time, I can't say for sure. We need to wait for the lab test results to make an official diagnose. Are you her relative?"

"No. I'm her secretary but her brother is on the way. I'm Tate Gardner"

Will nodded "I've heard she lost consciousness?"

"Yes. We are working over night because of an upcoming jewelry exhibit and then she just collapsed. Maybe she's over fatigue? I already told her to rest but she's so stubborn. She recently complained about abdominal pains and she vomited right before she collapsed"

Will nodded again and muttered "As I thought"

"Tate!" someone shouted from behind Will. He ran past Will

"How's my sister? Is she okay?" That someone held Tate's arm with a frantic look on his face

Will stared at that someone, frozen in place.

Because that someone was Nico di Angelo

Nico looked at Will.

* * *

 **oo00oo**

"PERCY!"

Percy almost choked at the coffee he was drinking as he sat behind his desk loaded with papers. Several police officers looked at Jason Grace as he strode towards Percy

Percy put down his mug and stared flatly at Jason "What can I do for you Detective Grace?"

"I remembered now!" Jason exclaimed slamming his hands on the table making Percy jumped "You know the guy that Detective Ramirez-Arellano was talking to the other day? I said before that he seemed familiar right? I already remember where I had seen him before"

"You met Nico di Angelo before?"

"Come on, Kelp head! Don't you remember him too? We've both seen him on the night of October 20th, Python's case? Civilian breached? Doesn't ring any bell?"

A memory flashed on Percy's mind. His mouth hang open "He was the civilian we saw in front of twin building while trying to rescue Doc Solace and Austin."

"Bingo!" Jason snapped his fingers "And the location of that twin building was coincidentally near where Nico di Angelo got hit by a car. And Nico's incident, it was the same day we saw him in front of that building. Don't you think there's a connection to that?"

"Will Solace, Nico di Angelo what's with you two?" Percy muttered as he leaned his arms on the table and clasped his hands together.

* * *

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 **Thank your for reading and subscribing to the story.**


	35. XXXIII - NICO

**XXXIII**

 **NICO**

Nico was sitting atop of stacked big boxes as he tilted his head back and swigged the water out of his tumbler. Since the day was sweltering because of the summer heat, beads of sweat trickled down his forehead down to his temple. His long abandoned white long sleeve was tied around his waist and now the blank tank top he was wearing was damped with sweat.

He put down his tumbler and looked around his new apartment in Manhattan. Everything was still in chaos since all of his things from Queens just completely settled earlier that morning. After a long pleading, debating and persuading his sister, Hazel finally agreed to lease an apartment in Manhattan.

" _I just don't understand, you seemed eager to live in Manhattan. You're all right before with driving back and forth to NYU from Queens and you said before that you'll get a part time here in Queens. Now I was surprised that you applied in Manhattan" He remembered Hazel telling him_

" _Well, a lot of things had changed and you know that I don't like to drive for the time being" Nico said and shrugged "So it was economical, you can live there too. You know with the upcoming exhibit and all, it's convenient or if you have any business in Manhattan, you can always stay there"_

" _It's just that, you've been away for so long and I was so happy that you decided to live with me here in New York and now you're going away again" Hazel said_

" _I'm sorry, it's just that. .. ." Nico couldn't tell so he tried to come up with another reason ". . It's just that, I found an opportunity in Manhattan easily, you know my part time in Triumvirate Laboratories, they were pretty big industry so I didn't expect that I will be accepted there"_

" _Valdez Biotech Corp here in Queens is a big industry too. I said I will refer you there because I know some higher up there"_

" _There's nothing we can do about that, I already got accepted it's not like I can back out. . . Please Hazel"_

 _Hazel sighed "Well, what else I can do, besides it's not always that Nico di Angelo was seriously pleading for something. . ."_

 _So the deal has been made._

The thing that Nico couldn't tell to Hazel was, since he woke up from a long sleep he felt like his life was no longer in Queens. Nico jumped down from the box and put his earphones on. There were still a lot of things to do. He played _Gold by Sleeping with Sirens_ on his playlist and blasted it off. It's going to be a long day for Nico di Angelo.

He was in the middle of opening of a box when he received a call.

"Hello?" He answered through his earphones

"Nico!" He recognized the voice. It was Tate, Hazel's secretary.

Nico stopped what he was doing. He didn't like the tone of Tate's voice "Hey, is there something wrong?"

"Nico. Hazel collapsed and she was rushed here in the hospital" Tate said

With that, Nico was rushing down the hall of his apartment building as he wore again his white sleeves over his blank tank top. He immediately pushed the elevator button. When he was at the street he hailed a cab going to Jupiter Half-blood Hospital.

Nico reached JHH. He paid the cab driver in a large bill and didn't bother to get the change in a haste to get inside. And when Nico stepped in the lobby of JHH, all of a sudden, his heart started to pound.

He gasped as he staggered backward "W-what the. . . "

For a moment, Nico felt like everything around him seemed to spin and blurred. He closed his eyes briefly. Then suddenly a blurry vision flashed in his head.

A guy in black was in the revolving door, pushing the door and walking in circles.

Nico's eyes snapped open. His heartbeat calmed down yet he was breathing a little bit heavy. Slowly, he turned around. There, the revolving door, like what in his vision.

"W-what was that" He whispered shakily "Who. . ."

Then he remembered his sister. Nico shook his head. _Not now._

He ran to the reception counter, unable to notice two doctors talking, a woman and a man. Nico was also oblivious that the woman was staring at him with wide-eyes.

"Excuse me" Nico said to the lady behind the counter "Where is the emergency room?"

"Just go straight and then right"

Nico turned his head to the side. The one who answered was a woman who has a short ginger hair with green highlights and who seemed to be a doctor. His eyes briefly wandered to her badge.

 _Knowles, Kayla M.D_

She seemed familiar to him, though

"Uh, yeah. Thanks" Nico said and ran away

Nico was thinking where he saw that woman while going to the ER. Then Nico remembered easily, the café, she was with the other blond guy who interrupted his date, how could he forget that when his date turned into a disaster after that interruption. Then not from a far, he saw Tate. Seeing her, Nico's worry and panic came back

"Tate!" Nico called and ran towards her

"How's my sister? Is she okay?" He held Tate's arm with a frantic look on his face

That's when he realized that Tate was talking to someone. He looked at that someone.

And much to his surprise, it was the blond-who-interrupted-his-date and the one who briefly crossed his mind seconds ago. He looked at him from head to foot.

 _Oh._

He's a doctor.

"We have to wait for lab results first but don't worry, she's not in a critical condition" The blond doctor said

Nico and Tate sighed in relief

"Dr. Solace!" a nurse ran towards the blond doctor.

 _Solace huh._ Nico thought

"Patient Levesque is-" the nurse froze when she saw Nico.

"Is what?" Dr. Solace nudged the nurse

The nurse slowly turned her head to the doctor as if in trance "-awake, doc"

"Good" Dr. Solace said

"Can we see her now?" Nico asked

"Later. I need to examine her again. I'll just call you" Dr. Solace said and went inside the ER

Nico noticed the nurse left standing there and staring at him.

"Um, is there something on my face?" Nico asked slowly

"Nurse Lou! Aren't you coming?" Dr. Solace called

"Y-yeah, coming doc" The nurse ran towards the doctor

"Weird" Nico said

"Maybe she's into you?" Tate said, smiling a little bit

"Wierder" Nico shook his head "And no way"

Nico faced Tate "Now, tell me what happened to Hazel? I thought you were in Queens!"

"Well, we lied a little about that" Tate bit her lip

Nico narrowed his eyes on her. And so Tate told him the story while they were waiting for the doctor to call them again.

A moment later, Dr. Solace came back with Nurse Lou.

"You can go and see her now. I'll come back with the lab results. Nurse Lou will accompany you to Miss Levesque's bed" With that Dr. Solace was gone. Nico briefly wondered if the doctor still remembered him.

"Uh, come with me" Nurse Lou said

Hazel smiled at them weakly when they reached the bed. The upper part of the bed was slightly raised so she was in an almost sitting position.

"Hey" Hazel bit her lip

"Hey my butt" Nico retorted "I almost had a heart attack when I learned that you were rushed here. I told you not to over work yourself didn't I?"

"Sorry" Hazel seemed to shrink in her place

"And aren't you sorry too that you lied to me?" Nico raised an eyebrow

Hazel sighed "Guilty and sorry again" then she glared pointedly at her secretary even though she's still feeling weak.

"Maybe I should leave you two a bit" Tate said and walked away

Nico held her hand, the one without IV needle "How are you feeling?"

"Like a jelly but I'll live" Hazel smiled again at her brother, her golden eyes were shining

"The doctor said that we have to wait for your lab results" Nico said

"Doc Will? He seemed really nice" Hazel said

"His name is Will?" Nico asked

Hazel nodded "Yeah, he introduced himself earlier"

 _So, it's Will Solace._ Nico thought. _It's a nice name._

Hazel cleared her throat "And just so you know, his whole name is William Solace. I saw his badge. . "

Nico stared at her sister

"Hazel" Nico said

"What?"

"I know that look. Stop it."

"What look?"

"He-seemed-nice-so-maybe-my-brother-is-into-him look"

"Are you? He's cute" Hazel was trying to hide her smile but failing

Nico groaned "Hazel. You can't expect me to like every single guy out there"

This time Hazel couldn't help but laugh softly but then immediately winced holding her head "Ow. .. "

Nico noticed this "Now we should really stop because you have to rest"

Hazel shifted in her position "You know, It's weird but it felt like I've seen him somewhere before . ."

"Really?" Nico asked surprisingly

Hazel shook her head "I'm not quite sure, it's just a feeling"

Afterwards, Will Solace came back holding a medical chart. Tate was trailing behind.

"So, Miss Levesque" Will opened the medical chart "According to your lab results, blood test including electrolytes, blood urea nitrogen and glucose are in neutral level but the hemoglobin count is a little bit elevated as well as the Urinalysis is quite concentrated"

"So my sister is dehydrated?" Nico asked

Will looked at Nico surprisingly "You seemed to know something about this"

"I minor in Biochemistry or so I've been told" Nico mumbled looking away, a little bit embarrassed by the attention that the blond doctor gave to him

Will nodded closing the medical chart "Anyway, Mild Dehydration in your case Miss Levesque. And your physical symptoms are showing the same diagnose and also over fatigue. So I recommend drinking plenty of water. Gatorade is good too. You also need a plenty of rest. The only medication I will prescribe drinking is Advil for your fever. You don't need to stay overnight since it was just a mild dehydration. Just come back here if your condition didn't improve"

Will moved closer to the IV and adjusted the IV drip "You can be discharged after you empty the IV bag-" He looked at his wrist watch while clipping the medical chart under his armpit"-And that will be probably in an hour and half so you can sleep for a little while." He smiled at Hazel. Nico noticed the dimple forming on his cheek "That will be all, Miss Levesque." Then Will also nodded at Nico and left

 _You can't fall for it, just because he has a cute smile and a cute dimple._ Nico chided himself. _And Just because-_

 _Blond hair_

 _Blue eyes_

Nico internally groaned. _And you can't factor in your crazy obsession here!_

"I will settle the bill and buy some Gatorade and Advil" Tate said and left also

Hazel nudged him with her elbow "Doc seemed impressed on you, Neeks"

"Don't add fuel to the fire, Hazel" Nico muttered inaudibly

* * *

 **oo00oo**

"Come on, Doc Knowles, please help me on this one. You're an expert in general medicine" Dr. Lee Fletcher begged as the two went to the lobby of Jupiter Half-Blood Hospital "If you want, you can be a researcher too, we can collaborate"

"I told you. I don't want to. I'm not the only doctor here" Kayla rolled her eyes on Dr. Fletcher "Besides, I'm going to start my own dissertation too. I was just waiting for something. . ." They both stopped in front of the reception counter

"Waiting for what?" Lee Fletcher asked

But Kayla ignored him and instead spoke to the lady in the reception "Excuse me. I received a call down here, that there's a letter addressed to me"

"Ah, yes doc" the lady answered "Just wait a second" then she started finding a certain envelope among other stacked letters.

Then a guy also came in the reception. Kayla's eyes widen in surprise and her mouth hung open when he saw the guy.

It was Nico di Angelo.

"Excuse me" Nico said to the lady behind the counter "Where is the emergency room?"

"Just go straight and then right" Kayla was the one who answered since the lady was still busy trying to find her letter.

Nico looked at her "Uh, yeah. Thanks" and he ran away

"He seemed to be really in a hurry. Hopefully whomever he was going to visit isn't dying" Lee Fletcher commented looking back at Nico

"I wonder who" Kayla paused "Wait, could it be he's here for Will? Does he remember everything now?"

"He knows Doc Solace?" Lee butted in

Kayla frowned at him when she realized something and spoke slowly "You. Don't you recognize that guy?"

Lee shook his head "This was the first time I've seen him"

Kayla's mouth parted open "This wasn't the first time you've seen him! You know that guy! He's always here before, his name is Nico di Angelo"

Lee stared at Kayla "How could I know that guy when this is the first time I've learned his name. And swear, never seen that Nico dude until now. What was he doing here before anyway? Did he work part time?"

"Say doc, did you know if Will dated someone again after you two broke up?" Kayla asked

"I'm not aware, did he?" Lee said

"Solangelo? Does that word seem familar to you? Kayla asked again

"And what was that this time? A new brand or something" Lee said frustratingly

"Dr. Knowles, here's your letter" the lady suddenly said

Lee Fletcher snatched the letter and looked at it "Awesome. Is this what you've been waiting? An invitation to a prestigious clinical research forum? How did you even get invited? It's hard to get an invitation here"

Kayla was still staring at Lee, trying to figure out what was going on. He seemed genuinely clueless about Nico. So, did Lee Fletcher forget about Nico di Angelo? Is that even possible?

* * *

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	36. XXXIV -NICO

**XXXIV**

 **NICO**

Nico was aware that he was in the middle of a dream. He was standing in the middle out of nowhere. Everything around him was white, blindingly white. Then he started to hear voices.

 _Okay, but are we really official now?_

Nico tried to look around but there's no one out there. He's all alone and the voice seemed to be everywhere.

 _If that's what you want._

Nico paused. He recognized his own voice.

 _It also involved what you want_

"Who are you?!" Nico shouted

 _All right, let's do this. I just want to be with you. End of discussion_

"Who is this someone I want to be with!" He shouted again, desperately "Please tell me"

 _So what do you prefer, boyfriend? Partner? Significant other?_

 _Significant annoyance in your case_

Nico fell to his knees and clutched the side of his head while his eyes were tightly shut "Please. . . I want this to end. . I'm so confused. . ."

 _What in Hades are you doing?_

Nico opened his eyes and looked up. In front of him a projection -like image of a revolving door he had seen at Jupiter Half- Blood Hospital. Then there's the guy in black again in the revolving door. The guy was walking towards Nico. And Nico finally recognized the guy.

The guy was himself

 _My way of killing time. Come on_

His other self seemed to be talking to someone behind Nico as he held out his hand. Nico looked back but there's nothing but white

 _You have a strange way of killing time, di Angelo._

There is it again, the voice.

Then everything around him melted. He found himself standing in the middle of a helipad of a big building. There's a blinding light in front of him that he had to squint his eyes and raised his arm to his face and shield his eyes from the blinding light. Then the blinding light subsided and Nico got a glimpse of a figure standing not too far from him.

He couldn't recognize the figure because he was obscured by the light.

But then the figure held out his hand to Nico.

Nico walked towards the figure as he tried to squint more. It was like a blurry image of a guy with a blond hair

And before he could reach the figure, he was gone and Nico was falling from that building.

Nico's eyes snapped open as he bolted up right from his bed. He was breathing heavily and sweats trickled down his cheek. His heart was beating wildly. He tried to calm down his breathe as he looked around his dark semi-chaotic room. It was so contrast to his dream full of light and white. When he was sure that his heart return to its normal rate and his breathing got even, he looked at the digital clock on the bed side table. It read 2:02 a.m.

Nico stood up and walked out the room. He went first to Hazel's room to check on her. She was sleeping peacefully. He quietly closed the door. He insisted that she should stay in Manhattan for the time being so he could keep an eye on her as she gets the enough rest she needed.

He went to the kitchen and got a mug of cold water and drank. He dragged a chair from the table and sat as he contemplated his dream.

 _What is it that I forgotten? Or is it a person? A person, whom I wanted to be with . . .?_

* * *

"You're going out?" Hazel, still in night robes, noticed Nico all dressed in black t-shirt and jeans and a low cut black converse

"Yep" Nico said walked closer to her sister and touched her forehead with his palm "You're fever seemed to be gone. I'll be gone for a moment, you okay alone here? I heated some leftover in the microwave."

Hazel shook her head smiling as she swatted his arm away "Di Angelo, I'm not a kid. I'm a full grown woman who can take care of herself"

"Uh huh" Nico nodded as he turned around and walked towards the full body length mirror standing besides the unopened boxes in the living room "You can really take care of yourself that you ended up in the hospital"

Hazel narrowed her eyes at his brother as she sat in the sofa and got a random magazine underneath the coffee table. She opened it "And where are you going early in the morning, you're not even finished arranging your things here."

Nico combed his quite long hair and tied it with an elastic band"Just somewhere and don't worry, I'm going to finish it later" Then he turned around at her sister and pointed his index finger at her "And don't you dare do it, you need to rest, like the doctor said"

"Aye, aye captain" Hazel nodded absentmindedly as she flipped through the pages of the magazine. Then she paused and gasped "I knew it!" She looked up at Nico "Speaking of the doctor. I knew where I saw Dr. Solace!"

Nico tilted his head inquiringly "Where?"

"Ta-da!" Hazel raised the opened magazine and pointed at it "Here. He got featured here. This was an issue last year though."

Nico sat beside her sister and got the magazine. True enough. There's a full body shot of Will Solace in one page and an article about him in the next. And Nico admitted he looked handsome there.

"He must be famous" Nico said

"Yes because he was the youngest skilled surgeon to date. He was really intelligent that he got accelerated in his studies while he's in Medical school. Read it. It was all there. Besides, he's also kind of selfless when he saved someone in a burning building last year. He's really cool isn't it?" Hazel narrated admiringly

"But then" Hazel continued "Despite his success, he looks so. . sad" she pointed at Will's face in the page "Look, he's smiling but his eyes looked so dull. He's got a beautiful light blue eyes but it wasn't shining. I noticed the same yesterday when we were there. I wonder why. . ."

* * *

Nico was standing in front of Jupiter Half-blood Hospital. This was where he intended to go. He narrowed his eyes at the revolving door in front of him. That door was frighteningly similar to the door in his dreams. If he had been here before, who was he talking to in this hospital?

He walked towards the revolving door and pushed the door but instead of going in, he walked round and round, like what he did in his dreams. He looked up.

 _What was I doing here before?_ _Why was I here? Did I really go here way before?_

"What are you doing?"

Nico paused and looked at the direction of the voice. Standing not from afar was Will Solace. This time he was wearing a simple green t-shirt and faded jeans instead of his usual scrub shirt. A leather body bag was slung on his shoulder.

"My way of killing time. Come on" Nico said

Then Nico froze

What did he say?

Why did he say that?

Nico stared at Will who has this blank expression on his face. All of sudden, everything around them seemed to disappear as if they were the only two standing there. Suddenly, Nico's chest seemed to constrict, like he couldn't breathe. He clutched his chest.

 _What in Hades are you doing?_

 _My way of killing time. Come on_

The voices echoed again.

Nico fell to his knees as he continued to clutch his chest.

 _What is this feeling?_

 _A feeling of pain because I lost something really important. Something I treasured the most. . ._

Then he felt strong arms grabbed both of his arms. He looked up. Will Solace was talking to him but Nico couldn't hear him.

 _Will Solace_

 _Who are you?_

 _Because, this bittersweet feeling was back again, something I used to feel when I was dreaming about blond hair and blue eyes._

 _Perhaps, it was you all along?_

* * *

 **update spree ladies and gentlemen. let's enjoy it while it last. lol**

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 **Please review.**


	37. XXXV - NICO

**XXXV**

 **NICO**

Nico's eyes opened and a pair of blue eyes was watching him a little too closely. His eyes widen in surprise and he sat up clumsily.

"Easy" Will held his shoulder to steady him

"Are you okay? You passed out earlier" Will said

Nico looked around he was sitting in one of the hospital beds in the emergency room of JHH. Nico sighed. The last thing he needed was to be at the ER because of his mess up brain and body.

"I'm fine" Nico answered

"Are you sure? You were holding to your chest earlier. Do you have any ailments in the heart or something? I thought you were having a cardiac arrest earlier" Will said

Nico sighed exasperatedly "Yes. I'm good. No heart illness either. It just happened sometimes. . ."

"You randomly pass out? That's not good either" Will countered

Nico stared at Will who has a stethoscope around his neck "It's not a problem here" he pointed at his chest "It's more of here" He tapped his temple

"Be more specific" Will said

"I do have amnesia. So I'm 90% confused and 10% frustrated all the time" Nico said

"Oh" Will looked away rubbing his neck "Earlier. You said something weird. What was that all about? Did you remember anything?"

 _That reminds me. . ._

Nico stared at Will "Don't take this the wrong way, but have we met before?"

Will stared at Nico "Yes. Yesterday. You were here with your sister"

"No. I mean before that?"

Will nodded "Yeah. Remember in the café. When I mistaken you for someone. . ."

"So you remembered. But way before that, did we already meet?"

Will was silent for a moment then he spoke "What if, we were?"

"Really? Did we?"

"No. we did not" Will said "But what's with your question"

Nico deflated like a balloon. So he was wrong "Nothing. I just feel strange. . ."

"Strange. How exactly?" Will asked, doctor mode on again.

Nico was getting annoyed "Never mind that. It's not medical okay. I'm seriously truly and genuinely fine" He was about to hop down the bed when he noticed something behind Will.

A guy in black trench coat was walking with a woman who seemed to be a patient because of her hospital gown.

Nico stared at them and Will noticed this. The doctor looked back and forth between the guy in black and to Nico, dumfounded.

"Y-you can see him?" Will asked, still stunned

Nico looked up at Will equally stunned "You too? I know they aren't human. What are they exactly? The one in black particularly?"

Will was silent for a moment and looked around "Let's not talk about this here. Let's get out. You said you are okay right?"

And so they found themselves walking aimlessly at the street while Will explained

"Death angels huh?" Nico mused "I mean I've been seeing them for a while but I just learned to ignore them. How about the woman with the death angel? Is she a ghost or something?"

Will scratched his chin "Oh, so he was with a woman. Probably you are talking about the soul they were escorting. I can't see them though. All I can see are death angels"

"Cool. It's good to know that I am not the only one who's like that" Nico said hooking his thumbs at the pocket of his jeans "It's kind of hard at first especially when I was still at the hospital. There are a lot of them in place like that. I thought they were humans before and it took a little while before I realized that they are not. Since when did you start seeing them?"

Will answered "When I was a kid. They are the reason why I became a doctor. I hate at them at first because they were the reason why people became miserable since they're taking away souls so I devoted myself on preventing that they won't be able to get souls so people will be happy. Later on, I realized that I shouldn't hate them because they were just doing their job and they weren't bad at all"

Nico stopped walking so was Will. Nico looked at Will

"What?" Will asked

"Will Solace, there are more to you than you are letting on. Am I right?" Nico said smiling and resumed walking "Well, you are kind of cool too"

He stopped again when he realized that Will wasn't following anymore. He looked back. Will was just standing there, staring at him. There. Like Hazel had said, there's a melancholy look at his face.

Nico walked back to him "Is there something wrong?"

"How did you know my name?" Will asked

"Of course, I'd know. You are my sister's doctor. You introduced yourself to Hazel as Will Solace" Nico answered

"Right" Will sighed and nodded

"And that reminds me, we haven't formally introduced each other. I'm Nico di Angelo. Nice to meet you" Nico held out his hand

Will stared at Nico's hand for a moment and accepted Nico's hand "Will Solace. But you already know that"

This time, Nico was the one who stared at their hands intertwined. Here it was again, that bittersweet feeling. Why couldn't Nico shake this kind of feeling? Will cleared his throat and pulled his hand away

"S-sorry" Nico muttered embarrassed. He mentally hit himself in the head. _Way to go, Nico._

"Well, where are we?" Will looked around. They both realized that they stopped in front of McDonald's

"Do you want to eat there? My treat" Nico was saying before his mind could comprehend what he was doing. Stupid addiction to Mcdonald's. So he said hastily "We can eat somewhere if you don't-"

"Fine" Will said "My shift just ended so I haven't eaten breakfast yet"

"Really?" Nico tried to act casual but he couldn't hide his smile

"Someone's happy" Will noticed

Nico bit his lip and sheepishly said "No one would eat with me there nowadays. I'm glad you're okay with it. It's kind of childish but I like eating there. . ."

"I'm glad that some things never changed" Will said walking inside the McDonald's

"What?" Nico followed him inside

They both ordered hash browns, big mac value meal burger and a cup of coffee. Soon, they were sitting opposite to each other.

Before they could start eating, a blonde in pink mini skirt approached them. The latter guys looked up

"Sorry to interrupt but hi. I'm Suzy" the blonde smiled at Nico "It was just a dare with my friends over there-" She pointed at the other side corner and there's a group of girls sitting and they all waved at Nico "-but if you're interested, here's my number. Call me. You're cute" Then she winked at Nico

Nico's mouth was hanging open

The blonde was about to leave when Nico held her wrist. Suzy was smiling biting her lip

Nico picked up the piece of paper with his other hand and put it back on Suzy's palm. She was looking confusedly at him

Nico looked up at her "You've asked the wrong person. I'm gay." Then he released her wrist

Suzy's mouth was hanging open. She looked at Will

Will raised his hand "I'm gay too."

Nico motioned the blonde to go back to her place. Suzy silently obliged with her mouth still open.

A moment of silence for the latter two and Will spared a discreet glance at the table where Suzy was

"They all looked like a fish out of the water" Will muttered and casually sipped his coffee

"I wanted to laugh" Nico said seriously as he tried to focus on his hash browns but failed

"Go on. No one's stopping you" Will said

Then Will and Nico started laughing soflty while shaking their heads.

"Seriously" Nico continued to shake his head while smiling

"Bad ass are ladies' type nowadays" Will commented

"Stop it" Nico said "But you didn't have to pretend that you are gay-"

"I was not pretending."

A moment of silence again

Nico released a breath "Okay" He was smiling like an idiot

"Were you always been at night shift?" Nico asked curiously as he started to eat the hash browns

Will paused a moment "Yes. Come to think of it. I was never been removed from the night shift ever since I started my residency there" he started to take a bite of his burger

"So you were there for a long time? I've heard you were really intelligent that you got accelerated in medical school-"

Will raised an eyebrow at him

"I saw you in the magazine actually" Nico said "Well, technically my sister Hazel saw you first. Hazel acted like she's your number one fan"

Will suddenly snorted with laughter while his mouth was still full. He immediately covered his mouth with a napkin. He swallowed and cleared his throat.

"You okay? Do you need water? What's so funny?" Nico said

Will sipped his coffee "No. I'm fine. I just thought of something. . . Nevermind" Will shook his head and dabbed his mouth with the napkin again while muttering inaudibly "Well, it's nice to know that not all your sisters hated me" He put down his napkin and smiled a little bit at Nico

Nico stopped eating and just stared at Will.

"What?" Will stopped eating too

Nico smiled "It's just nice to be here and talk to you. . ."

Will swallowed and looked down "Don't get use to it. This is going to be the first and last"

Nico frowned "What do you mean?"

Will stared at Nico "Let's not meet again after this. Well except for medical reasons, that I might accept but other than that, let's not see each other again"

Nico's stomach seemed to flip like he might throw out all the food he had eaten "Why? Did I do something wrong to offend you?"

Will smiled a little bit and shook his head "You did nothing wrong. But let's keep it that way. Just think of me as a villain in your life that will give you a hard time and confuse and upset you even more"

Nico just stared back at Will "I'm just curious, why you look so sad? Are you doing this because you wanted to be alone or something?"

Will pursed his lips "Can you do me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"Can you pretend that you are someone I really know? I just wanted to say something that I never got to tell to that someone?"

"Will that make you happy if I agreed?"

"Yes"

"Will I able to meet you again if I agreed?"

"No"

"Then I don't-"

"I missed you"

Nico looked at Will who was staring at him

"I missed you every single day that sometimes I wish that I would grow tired of it but of course, it never happened because I couldn't forget you no matter how hard I tried. You said that I shouldn't wait for you anymore and find new love. Can I really do that? Is that even possible when your love was everything to me?"

Then Will suddenly smiled "Thank you for pretending and cooperating, Mr. di Angelo. That made me feel a little bit better. Let's call it a day" He stood up and left Nico frozen in his spot

* * *

 **oo00oo**

"Percy! Percy! Here she comes" Jason scrambled towards Percy's desk at NYPD

"Shit!" Percy stood up in panic "What do I do? She's here to execute me, right?"

"It's either you hide or you die" Jason said

"DETECTIVE JACKSON!" A female voice shouted from the far distance

Percy dived under his table

Jason turned around stood up straighter as Reyna Ramirez-Arellano strode in the room

"Yes, Detective Ramirez-Arellano? Can I help you with something?"

Reyna stopped in front of Jason and put her hand on her hip "Yes, bring out Percy Jackson"

"He's not here at the moment" Jason said casually

"Don't lie in my face. I know for a fact that he's hiding under the table. His fingers are peaking underneath" Reyna said not missing a beat and still looking at Jason

Jason winced and muttered "What an idiotic Kelp Head"

Percy emerged from table "Ah, my desk was so dusty. I need to clean it-Oh! Here you are Detective, what brings you here?"

Reyna walked passed Jason "I've heard that you're poking into my case files without my permission despite knowing how much I hated that. Why?"

Percy muttered "Took you long enough to know"

Reyna slammed her hands on the table that made the latter detectives jumped "I said why?"

"I just thought that Nico di Angelo's case was kind of related to what I was investigating and I was in a hurry so I looked into it without your permission" Percy said smoothly. He'd practice that line a hundred times

Reyna narrowed her eyes on him "Another lie and you'll regret it"

Percy sighed in defeat "Worth a shot. Sit down. I may have something important to tell that might help you on your case with Nico di Angelo"

Reyna frowned but obliged as Percy sat back down. She sat in front of Percy and Jason walked closer to them.

"The night of October 20th" Percy began clasping his hands together "Detective Grace and I saw di Angelo earlier before the time he got hit by a car. We just remembered a while back"

Reyna's eyes widen "Where? And what time?"

"Around 10:30 p.m.? He was in front of a burning building where we were that time. We were rescuing some people out there kidnapped by a syndicate we're still investigating until now and chasing that time"

"And who are those people you were rescuing?"

"Only two" Percy answered "Will Solace and Austin Lake"

Reyna's frown deepened "Why would Nico be there?"

Percy shrugged "We just briefly saw him and di Angelo disappeared. We initially thought that he'd gone to the building alone to rescue Will Solace and Austin Lake. But he wasn't just there and the two victims escaped already. But here's the thing" Percy raised his index finger "One of the victims seemed to know Nico di Angelo"

"Who?"

"Will Solace. He's a doctor at Jupiter Half-blood Hospital"

"And how did you know their relation?"

"He said it himself, that he was a forgotten friend of Nico. He's the reason why I looked into your files. He's also a friend of mine and asked me a favor. He asked me what happened to Nico di Angelo's hit and run case. Also, that burned building was only a few blocks away from di Angelo's incident"

Reyna stood up and walked out the room

"Hey!" Percy shouted as he stood up "I told you valuable information so spare me on this one okay!"

* * *

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	38. XXXVI - WILL

**XXXVI**

 **WILL**

Will yawned as he strolled at the hallway of JHH. He shoved his hands deeper on the pocket of his lab coat. His shift was going to end soon and he was eager to go home.

"WILLIAM SOLACE!"

Will stopped walking and turned around. He found himself stumbling back to the wall as Kayla crashed into him. Cecil and Lou were trailing behind Kayla.

"What the-"

"Finally! I found you" Kayla panted like she had run a marathon. One hand was holding to her knee and one hand holding to Will's sleeves

Will looked inquiringly at his other friends, Cecil and Lou.

"We have something really important to tell you" Cecil said

"Yeah, it was kind of creeping all of us out and it was hard to believe" Lou added rubbing her arm

"And what is that?" Will asked

Kayla straightened up and took a deep breath and started to ramble "I never got a chance to tell you yesterday since we were both in the OR's having a tight schedule and we need to talk this out in person so I never bothered to call, but anyway something weird was happening here"

Will sighed exasperatedly "Again, what is it?"

"Everyone here in the hospital seemed to forget Nico di Angelo existed as if they were all had amnesia like Nico"

Will froze "What?"

Kayla dragged Will by the sleeve of his lab coat "Let's not talk about that here"

And so they went in an empty medical supplies room.

"What are you talking about?" Will asked immediately as soon as the four of them reached the room.

"I mean, it all started when Dr. Fletcher and I met Nico at the lobby the other day by chance "Kayla started "Then Dr. Fletcher didn't recognize Nico when I asked about him. Furthermore, he seemed to forget that you dated Nico!"

"Besides…." Cecil chimed in "We did a little investigation with all the staffs of this hospital who met Nico but they claimed that they didn't know him. Like for example, Nurse Drew, she was the one who created your ship name, right? Now, she didn't even know what Solangelo is"

Then Lou spoke "And the picture of you and Nico that I took with my phone at 3rd avenue last year? I let them see that picture and they all acted as if it was the first time they saw that. They were all asking who was the person you're holding hands with. How was that possible when most of us, the ER staff, looked at that picture last year? We're all even teasing you about that!"

"The two of you were the topic in the ER for a week that time. He's always been here at the hospital last year. So how is it possible that no one knows Nico? What is happening? Why it feels like, it was only the four of us remembered him?" Kayla said

"We only noticed this at this time because you refused to talk about him for a long time" Cecil said "Maybe that's why no one's asking how Nico and you were doing or asked why he suddenly disappeared and never came here again"

"M-maybe it was just a prank?" Will asked

"Why would they do a prank on something like that? It doesn't make any sense" Lou countered

"Besides" Cecil raised his hand "I'm a self proclaimed PhD holder at doing pranks so I would know easily if they were pretending or not. But all of them were genuinely clueless about Nico that it was creepy. Look-" Cecil raised his arm "-I have goose bumps"

"Me too" Lou grumbled rubbing her arm again

Will pursed his lips and clenched his hands, his knuckles turning white. Nico forgetting everything was kind of tolerable but when everyone seemed to forget, as if their story never existed and as if all of the things that Nico and he went through were just like a dream, it was too much. Whoever did this was way too cruel. How could someone mess people's mind like that? What that _someone_ had done was a crime, stealing people's memories. Will was pissed as hell.

"Son of a bi-" Will closed his eyes and exhaled. _Calm down, Will. Let's be calm about this and figure out what other things had gone to the oblivion._ But Will whirled around and punched the wall in front of him

"Will. . ." Lou called worriedly

"You seemed to know something. So, what is happening here?" Kayla said crossing her arms "I mean, we are all medical professionals here who believe that everything around us is made of science and this was like something that would happen in Harry Potter books"

Will took a deep breath and faced his friends "Do you perhaps know something about Death Angels? Colloquially known as Grim Reapers, because the truth is, they exist and I can see them"

His friends stared at him.

* * *

Will looked up at the burned building in front of him. After he left his friends figuring out what he had said to them, he went here. He explained everything to them, Nico being a death angel before and the punishment he received. However, he excluded telling them about his powers. He couldn't tell them about that yet. Not now.

Back at the present, as Will stared at the blackened 5-storey building in front of him, memories that were hidden in the deepest part of his brain, resurfaced. Almost a year ago, he thought that he was really going to die at this place. Thankfully, he didn't die that day. Yet, his life cost him to lose someone he cherished the most. He didn't die physically but something inside him broke and shattered in a million pieces that it was almost the same as dying.

No one else aside from him and his friends (he also told that to them earlier) knew the real story behind this building. That there's an angel who changed Will's fate, as if that angel came down from the heavens and bestowed Will a mercy and miracle.

Python's body got recovered but it was badly destroyed by the fire that the autopsy couldn't be done anymore so the authorities had no choice but to rely on Will's statement. That after Will discreetly able to break free from a tight bind in a chair, he fought with Python and shooting him with a gun in the end, then he and Austin escaped. Austin who was still unconscious that time had no idea what truly happened. Will was a hero for months that he even got interviews and featured in a magazine because of his heroic deed. But that heroic deed wasn't even his, and he had to pay a high price for a second chance in life so he wasn't that happy.

"Am I seeing guilt etched on that face of yours, Will Solace?"

Will turned his head at his side and saw Bianca di Angelo approaching him

"Nico said that I shouldn't blame myself for what happened so I'm obediently following what he told me" Will looked up again at the building "Besides, it's not guilt but deep seated sadness that I don't know if I would be able to overcome. Maybe this is my punishment too"

Bianca made no comment

"Now, that you are here, I need to ask something" Will turned and faced Bianca "Did you also know about everyone who met Nico before would forgot his existence afterwards? Also, that Nico can see death angels too?"

"So you found that out too, took you long enough to know. I can't even get close to him because he still can see us." Bianca said

"And you never bother to tell me?" Will narrowed his eyes

"I am not entitled to tell you everything I know, Solace. Besides, I told you before that the mist will altered everything to match up Nico's cover story as a mortal and not as a former death angel" Bianca countered

Will pursed his lips, trying to calm his nerves "But at least you could have told me specifically. The hell I know about abra cadabra magic. I still deserve to know that"

"Knowing everything is not always a good thing, Solace" Bianca said "I'm not doing it on purpose-well, a little bit but trust me, too much knowledge can be a burden"

"Wow" Will rolled his eyes "So I have to be thankful to you now that you are not giving me any burden to carry?"

Bianca frowned at Will "What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me?" Will shot back "I am so frustrated and hurt that I don't know what to feel anymore. And to add to the list of my frustrations, my sense of reality was starting to get warped just because for everyone, Nico and I's story was something that never happened. It hurt so much here" Will pointed at his chest "It felt like our feelings have been played. You should have erased all of our memories, that was so much better. Why my friends and I needed to remember everything?, is that your consolation-"

"Wait, hold on a sec" Bianca raised her hand "Your friends still remember Nico?"

This time, Will frowned "Yes"

"How many of your friends remember?" Bianca asked

"Only three and by the way, I told them the truth about Nico"

But Bianca ignored him because she seemed deep in thought while biting her thumb "What is happening, dad? Why are you doing this?"

"Dad?"

Bianca waved her hand dismissively "Anyway, tell them whatever you want. There must be a reason why they remembered. The mist was supposed to wipe out everyone's memories who encountered Nico but I don't know why there are exceptions" Bianca took a deep breath "Another thing to add to my own investigation"

"Investigation?"

"I told you, Nico being here is suspicious which I know is related to the underworld being restless and Lord Hades being so frustrated all the time like Nico. That's why I need to go somewhere to investigate further. You won't see me in a while, bet you will happy with that"

"And you are not also going to tell me where are you going?"

"Russia"

Will raised an eyebrow at that "You are going that far? How about your duties as a death angel?"

"Bob will take care of that"

"Is that possible with all your strict rules?"

"It's not possible for others but it is for me"

Will nodded "Of course, it will be possible for Bianca di Angelo. Bon voyage"

"One more thing, the reason I came here was to tell you something before I leave"

"Woah, that's the first voluntary spilling of information"

Bianca glared at him "Careful, Solace. I might change my mind about this"

"About what?"

"Don't avoid Nico anymore"

"W-what?" Will took a step back

Bianca looked away "There's nothing special about that, my feelings towards you remain the same. I still hate you. But for Nico. . . He might forget about you but his feelings for you never changed. And that is something that cannot be changed nor altered easily. The truth is, he was subconsciously trying to find you after he woke up from being in a coma"

Silence

"Say, will he be able to get back his old memories?" Will looked down

"I doubt that, it was his punishment" Bianca answered ". . . but you can always make new ones"

Will looked up at Bianca "Is it all right, though? Will he not get into trouble if I chose to be at his side again?"

"That I can't guarantee, when you two are together something always comes up but the hell with it. There's always a risk in everything and love is no different. Will you take that risk?"

"You are going to hate me more if Nico got in trouble again because of me"

"That is guaranteed, but what does an overprotective sister can do, Nico will never listen to me when it comes to you. He's all grown up now and he's not the little kid I used to protect. I cannot stop him from whatever he's about to do, it his life. And if you were thinking about Nico being punished in the underworld again because of you, don't worry, he can't be punished for the same reason twice."

"But I might confuse him even more when everything about us seemed not to exist for everyone"

"Make new memories remember? Besides, you don't have to tell him what happened in the past"

Will made no comment

"What am I trying to say here is, Nico never gave up on you. So don't give up on him either" Bianca said "Well, my business here is over. I should get going" Bianca turned around and started to leave. Before Will could say anything she disappeared in black smoke.

 _Don't give up huh?_

* * *

 **Double update!**


	39. XXXVII - WILL

**XXXVII**

 **WILL**

After Bianca vanished, Will turned around and started to walk away

"Hey. You"

Will stopped and turned at the direction of the voice. He saw a woman approaching him. She has a piercing black eyes and her black glossy hair was braided over her shoulder. She's quite tall and had a figure fitted to an amazon. She wore a black vest, underneath was a light blue collared blouse with sleeves rolled to her elbows. It was paired with jeans and black combat shoes. All in all, she looked intimidating and Will felt like she was ready to kill any second.

Will looked around confirming if he was really the one that the woman called. So far, he's the only one in the perimeter.

"Yes, I'm talking to you, Will Solace"

Will froze "Um, how did you know my name?"

The woman reached the inside pocket of her vest "I'm Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, NYPD detective" She raised her badge for Will to see and then pocketed it again afterwards.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Detective?" Will asked inquiringly

"I'm the one, who's investigating Nico di Angelo's hit and run case and I've been told that you know Mr. di Angelo quite well, since you looked for his case"

"Oh"

"Why are you interested in his case?" Reyna asked again

"I just wanted to know how the case is going. I also wanted Nico to have justice he deserve"

Reyna narrowed her eyes at Will and Will felt like he wanted to shrink in the ground "So far, you are telling the truth, Mr. Solace"

"Where were you at 11:30 pm on October 20th last year?"

"Hospital, you probably heard what happened here" Will pointed at the building in front of them "You can check the hospital I was admitted to, if you liked"

"Do you happen to see Nico here around 10 pm the same night?" Reyna asked again

Will paused "Yes, but he disappeared immediately"

"How did you see him when you were captured that time? Where exactly did you see him?" Reyna was bombarding him with questions. Her expression remained stoic.

"You were hesitating to answer, Mr. Will Solace. Why is that?" Reyna spoke again

"It's nothing-"

"You're lying. I must have warned you before that you can't lie to me"

The two stared at each other, carefully gauging each other's reaction.

 _Should I tell her the truth? She'll think I'm a lunatic if I told her. . ._

 _What are you hiding Will Solace? Who are you?_

"Nico. . ." Will began "Saved me that night"

Reyna frowned "How exactly?"

"He went inside that building and fought Python because he's about to kill me"

"I thought you were the one who fought Python"

"Technically, I fought Python too but he captured me in the end. Then Nico came. . ."

"Where you really the one who killed Python?"

Will remained silence

"So, it's Nico, wasn't it? Why didn't you include Nico in your statement? Do you know that you can be charged of Perjury because of your false statement? That is 7 years in prison and you could lose your medical license because of that"

"Because Nico suddenly disappeared and I don't know where he went. How could I include a person who suddenly vanished out of thin air? Will the police believe me if I told that someone actually rescued me and then vanished?"

 _Truth_

"Who are you really? Who are you to Nico that he'll risk his life for you?" Reyna asked

"I. . . I used to be that someone who's really important to him but he already forgot that"

"Then why didn't you introduce yourself to Nico?"

Will looked up "Because, I thought he already left me, that we already parted ways and that our story already ended. I thought that we should live our own lives"

 _Another Truth_

Reyna remained silent.

Will glanced at Reyna "Will you tell the police now what you have learned?"

"Not yet. Still nothing is making any sense. It's not even leading to the culprit I'm after. But the fact that he came here and saved you was quite substantial. At least, I have a reason now why he left Queens that day"

"Will you tell Nico about this?"

Reyna raised an eyebrow "Would you like me to?"

"Not now."

"You know, Nico was also my friend and I think he will be really happy if you told him who you really are"

"How long do you know Nico?"

Reyna shrugged "Since College"

"Do you know where was Nico 5 years ago in July"

Reyna contemplated for a moment "As far as I remembered, he was in Italy that time. Why?"

"Oh" Will deflated. That's around the time when he first met Nico at JHH as a death angel. Now, it seemed that the mist altered that too. So how could he introduce himself as someone Nico used to know when the proof that they actually met seemed to vanish too. How would Will explained that to Nico?

Will faced Reyna "Please. Don't tell Nico about this. I'll help whatever I can to solve Nico's case but keep this a secret"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because he'll ask questions about me and I'll just confuse him, because I was someone who didn't exist in a lifetime he believe in"

"You know, I don't understand you but you were telling the truth so I can't really argue with that" Reyna exhaled "All right, I won't tell him for the time being. But I still don't fully trust you"

Will nodded in relief "Thank you and I understand. For you, Probably,I was like someone who suddenly popped up in Nico's life."

"One more question" Reyna said

"Shoot"

"Were you involve in Nico's hit and run case?"

"Are you insinuating that I was a suspect in his case?" Will raised an eyebrow

"Are you?" Reyna countered

"You're good at detecting truth and lies, then will you believe me if I told you that I wasn't? That I would never do something to harm Nico? Because I-" Will paused

"I what?"

"Because I love him" Will was blushing. It's been a long time since he admitted that again

"Well. You're telling the truth" Reyna decided "And as Nico's friend, I will really advise to introduce yourself to Nico, maybe not someone whom he used to know in the past but someone he can call a friend in the present and in the future. What's the use of the past when he can't remember them anyway"

"We actually met" Will said "I was his sister's doctor, so our paths crossed again"

"So I've heard. And since, your paths crossed again, I think your story isn't finish yet, so don't end it with your own. To be honest, Nico was constantly asking me if there's a special someone he forgot somehow. Maybe it was you? He's constantly looking for people with blond hair and blue eyes like you" Reyna said

Will didn't know what to say

"Anyhow, my interrogation with you was done. But I'll still contact you for further questions. I was actually looking for you at the hospital you work at but you weren't there. Fortunately, I ran into you here. I was just about to look the place where Detective Jackson saw Nico on October 20th"

"Wait, Percy remembered seeing Nico here?" Will asked

"Yes"

"Who else remembered Nico? I mean, seeing him here?"

"I think, Detective Grace too, they were the only two who witness seeing Nico here, that's why I'm here"

Will nodded "Okay"

 _So, not only my friends remember Nico? But Percy and Jason as well? Why?_

* * *

That night, Will was busy tending patients in the ER of JHH when Cecil came running to him

"Will!" Cecil called out of breath "I mean, doc"

"What?" Will said nonchalantly as he taped the gauze pad on the forehead of a 10 year old boy.

"Come back to me after a week, so I can remove the stitches" Will said to the mother of the patient then they left.

"What is it?" Will faced Cecil while removing his latex gloves

"Um, while going here, I saw someone in front of the hospital. . ."

"Who?"

"Nico"

"I don't know if he has any plans of going in but he's walking back in forth outside while talking to himself like a lunatic, so maybe you should check if he's okay or something. . . " Cecil continued

Will threw the gloves in the nearby trash bin and walked passed Cecil and went out the ER. He reached the lobby and paused. Just outside the door he immediately saw Nico who, like Cecil said, walking back and forth and seemed to be in deep thought.

"Is it really all right though? If I walked back into your life again, Nico di Angelo?" Will said to himself. Then he walked towards Nico.

Will was already outside when Nico stopped walking and sighed. He's looking down so he didn't notice Will yet

"I was about to ask on how long will you keep on walking like that, thankfully you stopped" Will put his hands on his lab coat's pocket

Nico looked at him and froze

"What are you doing here?" Will asked "Are you sick?"

"Um. . I was just passing by. . " Nico stupidly pointed his index finger somewhere behind him and when he realized it was stupid, he just scratched his head "You know that was just an excuse. I came here to see you" then he walked closer to Will and stopped in front of him

"Because I really don't understand what you said last time about not meeting again. It didn't make any sense to me so I will not consider that as a valid reason not to meet again. Furthermore, I drew out some conclusion about you"

Will raised an eyebrow amusedly "I'm interested on that conclusion you have drawn about me, Mr. di Angelo. Let's hear it."

"You're still hang-up on your ex-boyfriend. You can't move from him that's why you're sad" Nico said straight to the point

Will was speechless

"I mean. . " Nico continued "Based on the things you said to me when you asked me to pretend as someone you know, I could only think of that. You're probably thinking that it was unfair for me since you still have feelings for that someone. I'm right, aren't I?"

Will's mouth was hanging open

"Tss. So I'm really right" Nico said

"Did he leave you?" Nico asked again

"He forgot about me" Will answered

"So you should do the same. Forget about him. Start a new life. Why would you waste your time on someone who already forgot you?"

"Should I really do that?" Will tilted his head

"Of course!" Nico said "But you know, I appreciate your concern about me, but it's really okay with me. So don't use that as an excuse not to meet me again. Okay?"

 _Will it really be okay if chose to be at your side again?_

"Who knows along the way, you'll be able to forget him. There are other guy out there who is far more deserving to be with you, not someone who's going to forget you. . ." Nico continued

 _Are we going to be all right if we stay together?_

"It's not yet the end of the world. So you don't have to be really that sad. I mean I understand that you probably love him so much but there are certain times, that you have to let go of the past no matter how seemed important that to you because sometimes that is the only way you can move forward and not to be stuck in the same moment forever"

 _Can I take that risk? Will you take that risk with me?_

"Give me your hand" Will suddenly said

"Huh?" Nico said and sighed "I just felt like I made a speech worth of Nobel Peace Prize and that's the only thing you're going to say?"

Will rolled his eyes and reached for Nico's right hand. Nico jumped in surprised.

"Hey!"

"I really don't have much time since it's my shift tonight" Will reached for his fountain pen attached to his lab coat's chest pocket. Then he started to write something on Nico's palm. Nico noticed the bruises formed on Will's knuckles.

"What happened to your hand?" Nico asked

"Due to too much frustrations" Will said nonchalantly

"And what are you writing?"

"There" Will released Nico's hand "If we were going to meet again, you need that"

Nico stared at the 10-digit number on his palm "Is this. . . "

"My mobile number. Just call me later for future plans of meeting again. I can't stay out long. See you later, Nico" Then Will turned around and headed back inside the hospital

Nico turned around staring at the number on his palm. Then suddenly, he punched the air and he was grinning like an idiot. People nearby looked at Nico liked he's crazy

Unknown to him, Will Solace was looking back at him with a small smile on his face. He shook his head in amusement and continued walking back in the ER.

* * *

 **So, there's that. I was supposed to update one chapter but I realized it was too long for one chapter so I split it into two.**

 **Please review!**

 **Thanks for reading and subscribing!**


	40. XXXVIII - NICO

**XXXVIII**

 **NICO**

 _Question: Okay, we know that a doctor can be as busy as hell and with that career of yours, how's your love life going for you, doc? Any special someone as of the moment?_

 _Will: As of the moment, none. There was used to be someone and at the end, we had to go our separate ways. For now, I want to focus more on my career._

 _Question: So no dating then?_

 _Will: Yes._

What the actual hades? Nico snapped the magazine close. Will Solace didn't want to date? Nico put down the magazine and rolled on his bed. He reached for his phone on the bed side table.

He texted Will.

 **Nico (23:15): According to the magazine, you don't want to date.**

Then Nico put his phone on his stomach and stared at the ceiling. A moment later, his phone vibrated that surprised the hades out of him. He wasn't expecting a reply instantly because he knew that Will was probably busy on his shift at the hospital.

 **Will (23:17): Maybe I changed my mind**

Nico was smiling like an idiot

 **Nico(23:17): Why?**

 **Will(23:18): Because you are Nico.**

 **Nico (23:19): So my name has some sort of privileges but perhaps care to elaborate your reply ?**

 **Will (23:30): I just like your name.**

 **Nico(23:31): I've never been grateful to my name until now.**

 **Will(23:31): Haha**

 **Nico(23:32): but seriously, I want really want to know you and I'm not rushing you or anything. . .**

 **Will(23:34): I was just wondering, of all people why me?**

 **Nico(23:35): Because you are Will**

 **Will(23:40): Go to sleep, di Angelo. It's late. And I'm going back to my station. Good night.**

 **Nico(23:41): Okay. See you tomorrow. Starbucks 4 pm. Right?**

It was Hazel Levesque much awaited jewellery exhibit the next day so Nico invited Will to come and the blond doctor agreed. They decided to hang out at the Starbucks at least an hour before the actual exhibit.

 **Will(23:42): Right. See you.**

And before Nico lost his courage.

 **Nico(23:43): I am considering this as our first date, Solace.**

 **Will(23:44): Considered it as a date.**

That stupid smile wouldn't leave Nico's face. He was still smiling as he fell asleep, phone in hand. Surprisingly, he got a dreamless sleep again. It's going on for day now.

* * *

"So I'm also going to work next week" Nico announced as he put down the tray of vanilla lattes with extra espresso shots on their table at Starbucks.

Will nodded in appreciation. He was wearing a white dress shirt tucked in a black pants and a royal blue coat that hugged his figure perfectly. A pair of sunglass was hanging at the crook of Will's shirt where the button closed up. Nico thought that a celebrity landed in Starbucks when Will walked in with sunglass on. He was sure that he was dumbly staring at Will for a few seconds before he snapped back to the reality. Nico, on the other hand, was wearing a black dress shirt with the top buttons undid paired with a gray coat and black pants. His hair was tied in half as usual.

"Congrats. And where did you land a job?"

"Triumvirate Laboratories" Nico answered

"Wow. That's a big company and I've heard that it's hard to get a job there. You are working full time?"

Nico shook his head "Only part-time. Besides I'm going to start my master's degree at NYU this coming Fall"

Will nodded again "That's like two months away. . ."

"That reminds, do you have any books related to pathology that I could borrow? I want to work on my dissertation early.."

"I'm sure there is" Will answered after sipping on his latte. He put down his mug " I'm going to look back at my apartment. What topic are you going to work on?"

Nico shrugged "I'm not quite sure yet. I was toying around with the idea of viral diseases in relation to industrial deaths"

"That was quite a good one especially to those in mining industry or factories, battling contamination and poisoning. Who knows because of your paper, there might be a discovery of new strain of pathogens. . ."

"Yep, from that, new antibiotics can be developed to cure that. . ." Nico trailed off

Will suddenly shook his head smiling. His dimple on the cheek was showing and Nico was trying hard not to stare too much at it.

"What?" Nico asked

"Nothing. We're talking something normal. . ."

"Normal?" Nico stared at Will "Dude, we are talking about pathogens and antibiotics, is that an everyday topic now that people talks about?"

Will laughed. And boy, Nico felt damn proud to himself because it was like a big accomplishment to make this beautiful guy in front of him laughed. He wouldn't get tired of hearing this melodious laughter.

"Okay, not really" Will conceded "But it just shows how much nerd we are. ."

"I am not a nerd" Nico huffed

"Okay, a dork"

"Dork?!"

"Man, you just start talking about borrowing a book and dissertation you wanted to start early. You are a bona fied nerd . . .and a dork"

Nico glared at Will "I refused to accept that"

Will just laughed harder "Cute"

And probably, Nico didn't mind the accusations at all.

* * *

After the cutting of ribbon at the exhibit, Nico and Will started to look around the displayed jewelries until Hazel joined them. Hazel looked beautiful in a teal green fitted laced dress that reached her knees. Her cinnamon brown hair was in a ponytail. Nico rolled his eyes on Hazel's delight that Will was able to come and if Nico hadn't known better, he would think that Hazel was _fangirling_ on Will. Will looked bashful though, so Nico needed a distraction. He asked Will to look more around; there were still other displays that they hadn't seen after all. Will immediately agreed shooting a grateful look at Nico before leaving.

Hazel sighed, almost dreamily looking at Will's retreating figure "I like him"

"Obviously" Nico answered

"For you, I mean"

"Yeah"

"Seriously, why hadn't you met him, sooner?"

"Now, you should really be thankful that I moved here in Manhattan"

Hazel hummed in response and looked closely at him

"What?" Nico raised an eyebrow at her

"I really wished you had met him sooner so I would be able to see your face became brighter"

"Brighter" Nico echoed

"No offense but I thought that your scowl was permanent on your face but every time you are going to look at him, your face seemed to be brighter" Hazel said thoughtfully

"Hazel" Nico felt his face hot "You know, where is Frank, isn't he coming?"

"Uhm, present" A voice said behind them

The two turned to see Frank Zhang, Hazel's boyfriend, standing not too far from them. Hazel immediately ran to Frank and hugged him. Nico smiled fondly at the two. Frank was a veterinarian in Toronto, Canada. Well because of the distance from each other and how busy they were in their respective careers, they hardly see each other.

"I'm sorry. I'm late. Delayed flight sucks" Frank said kissing the Hazel's forehead "And by the way, you look, gorgeous"

Hazel blushed and pushed him lightly "Frank"

Then Frank looked at Nico "Hello, Nico. How are you doing?"

"Good and nice to see you again, Frank" Nico said "I should probably find Will"

"Okay. Hey. Don't forget the four of us will have dinner okay?"

Nico groaned "All right" Then he went off to find Will.

He found the blond doctor staring at the enclosed glass with jewelry inside. It was a bracelet made of braided cord, a combination of gold and black.

"Hey" Nico greeted "So Hazel wants us to have dinner, is that all right with you?"

Will smiled at him "Of course. I can run at the hospital a little bit late"

Nico nodded "I'm sorry about Hazel earlier, she can be a little too . . .enthusiastic at times. ."

Will laughed softly "That's understatement but she's really nice you know. ."

"Just don't let her hear you curse. She didn't like profanity."

"Noted" Will said

After the successful exhibit and a brief introduction for Will and Frank, they went in a fancy restaurant.

"Hello. Are you ready to order?" A waiter greeted them. He has brown hair that hung in his green eyes. The name tag read: _Bryce._

* * *

 **oo00oo**

Bryce Lawrence was standing not from afar, looking at the four people sitting and eating in a booth. He's got a menacing look at his face, that look was more directed at the dark haired guy and at the blond sitting to each other.

"Nice to see you again, Will Solace and Nico di Angelo. You have something to pay from me" Bryce murmured. A low growl escaped from him.


	41. XXXIX - NICO

**XXXIX**

 **NICO**

"Hi, my name is Chiara Benvenuti. I will be your senior here at Triumvirate Labs. Any problems and questions you go to me, got it?" The woman said in lab coat as they toured around the lab. She has a dark pixie hair and fierce almond eyes.

"Got it" Nico answered "If you don't mind asking, are you Italian?"

Chiara raised an eyebrow at him "Yes. Why?"

" _Sono anche italiano_ " Nico said introducing himself as an Italian too

"Oh. . _Sì_. . Di Angelo." Chiara mused "Where you exactly from?"

"Venice" Nico answered

"From Milan. I'm going there from time to time to visit my family but my life's been here" Chiara said

"I could relate" Nico said.

Chiara smiled "Maybe we can get along di Angelo. Honestly, you're lucky that you're under my wing. If you were assigned to Damien, could be worse"

Nico arched an eyebrow at her "Do I want to know why?"

Chiara waved her hand, laughing "Oh, I don't need to tell you, you'll see soon enough"

They stopped in a balcony overlooking several scientists working on different lab equipments, some of them were testing samples and others were comparing notes.

"A new employee, I guess?"

Nico and Chiara turned their heads on the side and saw a tall handsome man in navy pinstripe suit walking towards them. He has a short-cropped sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, and an athletic and muscular build.

"Mr. Castellan" Chiara said who appeared to be surprise and Nico couldn't help but to react the same way. Nico remembered the man, he briefly saw him on the pamphlets of Triumvirate and sometimes on the news related to Triumvirate Labs. He was Luke Castellan, assistant of infamous Nero Johansen, CEO of Triumvirate Laboratories.

"Hello to you Miss. . ." Luke greeted Chiara who was rooted to the spot. Then he faced Nico and extended his hand for a handshake "I am Luke Castellan, assistant to Mr. Nero Johansen"

Nico accepted Luke's hand and shook it almost hesitantly; he's still surprised that this higher up seemed interested with their new employees. Or was that like a norm in this company? However, seeing Chiara's reaction Nico kind of doubt it.

"I'm Nico di Angelo, new part time here. It's my pleasure to meet you, sir" Nico released Luke's hand

"Likewise, Mr. Di Angelo" Luke was probably staring too much at Nico's face that the latter one was starting to get uncomfortable. As if Luke Castellan was searching something on his face.

"I hope, you enjoy working here and we are glad that you chose to work with us." Luke smiled which was unnerved Nico even though he didn't know why "Anyway, I won't interrupt you any longer. Please continue on your way. I'll go ahead. Excuse me" With that, Luke Castellan was gone

After a seconds of shock silence, Chiara faced Nico, narrowing his eyes on him "Who are you really, Nico di Angelo?"

"What?" Nico frowned getting defensive "Do you want a copy of my resume?"

"Well, are you related to Luke Castellan?"

"I'm certain that we are not"

"There must be something to you" Chiara said "Luke Castellan never comes down here in the pit just so he could greet some new part timer. This is even the first time he talked to me and I've been working here for five years! And of course he noticed me because of you."

"Let's not assume things right away" Nico said politely "Maybe he was just in the mood to greet the employers here. . ."

Chiara shook her head "Believe me, di Angelo. Other senior employees, who have been working here way longer than me, would be shock to hear that Luke Castellan gave you an attention. Don't even go telling this to others. You don't want your seniors to resent you, the newbie. People here can be pretty competitive"

"Well, are you one of them who will resent me?" Nico asked

Chiara snorted crossing her arms. She rolled her eyes "Oh please, I'm not interested in office politics. I'm just here because I love my job. And as I've said before, you are lucky that you are under my wing"

Nico smiled thinly. He decided that he liked Chiara Benvenuti.

* * *

Nico was only half-day at Triumvirate Labs as his official work will start tomorrow. So after lunch he went to see his psychiatrist. It's been a month since his last consultation and it was a miracle that his doctor wasn't throwing a fit yet because of his absence.

"Well, well, well" a man said as soon as he saw Nico entered the clinic. The man has a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, it looks purple. He was wearing a leopard print Hawaiian shirt and purple running shoes. He was on his early fifties. On the table, at the front edge was a double sided wooden desk name plate was placed. A fancy script was written across: _Dionne Nicksus, M.D_ and just below the name with the same fancy script _'Psychiatrist'_ was written. He preferred to be called Mr. D though. His clinic was occupying the first floor of his house while he was sleeping in the 2nd floor.

"Hi, Mr. D" Nico greeted

"Well, kid. I thought you also forgot that you still have a psychiatrist here. I was almost tempted to call Hazel and ask about you but I know you wouldn't like that" Mr. D said sitting down behind his desk, a can of diet coke in hand. He motioned Nico to sit down opposite to him. Nico obliged

"I am sorry, I was really busy these past few weeks, you know with the moving to Manhattan then Hazel got sick and I was also busy with my part time, now that I got accepted" Nico explained almost in one breath then he exhaled "I really appreciate that you didn't call Hazel, I'm sure that I'll never hear the end of it if she knew"

"Figured" Mr. D chuckled sipping on his diet coke. He put his can down on the desk "So kid, obviously, you've been busy lately which is good. That helps you take your mind on other things. So how's your amnesia? No progress?"

"Actually. . ." Nico faced Mr.D. He launched on his story about revolving doors and significant annoyance memories.

Mr. D was silent for a moment "That was the first real progress you had ever since the incident aside from the occasional blond hair and blue eyes dreams. By the way, how's your fascination about blonds and blue eyes?"

Nico froze.

And Mr. D quickly noticed Nico's reaction. Mr. D frowned "Why?"

Nico swallowed "I realized that my dreams about those stopped, because of that I momentarily forgot about those"

This seemed to interest Mr. D as he leaned forward and clasped his hands together over his desk "Really? Since when it stopped?"

Nico thought about it for a moment "A week ago, I guess. . ."

Mr. D looked in awe "How busy you are that you really forgot about that. Man, your whole memories seemed to revolve around blond and blue eyes and now you just forgot. What exactly are you doing last week?"

Nico bit his lip as his face started to flush. How could he not feel flustered when last week his week seemed to revolve around Will Solace after getting his number.

"Come on now, kid" Mr. D prompted "I thought we already established that you shouldn't be embarrassed with Uncle D."

"It's just that. . ." Nico started "I was caught up with this. . .guy.. An actual blond and blue eyes. . "

"So my blind date idea worked then?" Mr. D smirked

Nico scowled. Yeah, it was Mr. D's idea to have a blind from time to time, saying it will help with his socialization instead of being holed up in his room being frustrated about blond and blue eyes. So his idea, why not meet an actual one? So far, it worked . . . a little bit. It was still frustrating that it felt like he was finding something on every blond and blue eyes he would be with in a blind date. The more frustrating was, the fact that he didn't even know what was that _'something'_ he was trying to find. Nonetheless, after meeting Will Solace, he stopped going on this blind date thing. Because he's really serious to know this guy, for what is worth.

"No. he's not from the blind date. We kinda met accidentally. . ." Nico said

"Now why don't we start first with this guy's name" Mr. D said

"His name is Will Solace. He's actually a doctor too."

"Wait" Mr. D raised his hand "Will Solace as in William Solace, that young cardio thoracic surgeon?"

"Yes. He's a surgeon. . ."

Mr. D whistled in appreciation that made Nico flustered again "Among doctor's gossip, he's pretty a common topic with his excellent skills. I thought that he doesn't date"

"Well, he changed his mind. . ."

"After meeting you I guess?"

"Mr.D!"

Mr. D laughed "Okay. Can't blame him, you had the aura of mystery and let's admit it, when you remove that scowling expression, you're handsome dear. Anyway, let's hear the story of how you two met"

So Nico launched on his new story. At first, it was hard to open up with Mr. D with all the awkwardness. But when Nico felt too desperate and lost because of his blank state of mind, he started to open up bit by bit to Mr. D and Mr. D understand him immediately when it felt like no one else can, his weird fascination about blond and blue eyes, his frustration about remembering nothing and Nico admitted his depression for the same reason. After all, it's Mr. D's job to understand how a human mind thinks and for Nico, Mr. D was doing a good job at it. Mr. D seemed nonchalant but he actually cared which Nico likes, he doesn't fuss about Nico's state of mind. He's just like a _chill dude._

Mr. D was silent again after Nico finished his story.

"I see. ." Mr. D said nodding "I think the reason why you suddenly forgot about your fascination was because, Will was your new coping mechanism which is actually good that there's an actual human being you could talk to. Those flashes of blond and blue eyes in your head _used_ to be your coping mechanism because that's all you have left in that blank mind of yours. You _cling_ on those, because they could be fragments of your old memories, of your old life. Now that Will came. . ." Mr. D shrugged "He's like your dreams turned into reality. Blond and blue eyes"

"But why Will of all people? I've got into blind dates with a few people who also blond and has blue eyes, Why him?"

"Kid, that's where the _attraction_ entered, you never got attracted to anybody except to this Will guy. There's always like a pull towards him, am I right?" Mr. D wiggled his eyebrows

Nico scowled, blushing again

"And that kid, was your favorite defense mechanism, scowling" Mr. D remarked

"But then, what do you think triggered your old memories to come back? You need to identify that because it is important, you could use that trigger to regain something again. There's always a trigger, think" Mr. D continued

Nico frowned thinking. The first time a fraction of his old memories appeared was where Reyna and he had lunch together and the revolving door was when he was at the hospital. What's the common thing about them? Wait. . . that day . . . and in the hospital. . . there's someone who had been present on both events.

Will Solace.

That day, Will Solace interrupted his date and seeing him for the first time brought a headache, then at noon he remembered something while eating with Reyna and in the hospital where Hazel was rushed, Will had been there too.

"No, should be a coincidence" Nico thought out loud

"But you have something or someone in mind. Tell me" Mr. D said

"It's impossible, but Will Solace was always present every time I was going to remember something. And the first time we met, I actually had a terrible headache"

"And you're telling me this now about the headache" Mr. D noted

"Sorry"

Mr. D waved his hand in dismissal "Anyway, do you think he's the trigger?"

"Again, that's impossible" Nico said exasperatedly "He already said that we never met way before the incident"

Mr. D was silent

"Ugh" Nico said banging his forehead lightly on the desk "I'm starting to have headache again"

"Of course you are, you're banging your head on a hard surface. That's also our cue to stop for the time being and please stop banging your head. Thank you" Mr. D said

Nico stopped slumping back on his chair sighing

"Hey, there's no reason to be gloom and doom again, on the brighter side you are making a progress. You need to have patience because your memories won't come all at once"

"Will my memories really come back?" Nico grumbled

"Let's be positive on this one"

"You're not even sure" Nico accused

"I'm not giving you false hopes and you know the chances" Mr. D stated

"Anyway" Mr. D continued "I suggest you stick with this Will guy. He's good for you emotionally and mentally regardless that he's your trigger or not. And you know dating someone was actually good because when you are seeing someone, your brain releases endorphins for euphoric feelings. That's good for you. So now, we will lessen the intake of your medications"

* * *

 **oo00oo**

After Nico left, Mr. D was left sitting drumming his fingers on the desk, then he noticed that the figurines on his desk started to move, then he started to feel a tremor as if there's an earthquake coming. It also started to dim around him despite that it was still noon and the temperature started to drop despite the July summer heat.

"Oh come on!" Mr. D threw his hands as he leaned back on his chair "Chill dude! Don't fret. It's not like I revealed anything vital to him! Just be thankful that I am looking after your son! Jeez. ."

The tremor stopped. The temperature got back to normal. It got lighter in the room.

Mr. D sighed shaking his head "Hey! You're not the only one who doesn't want the world to end you know"

* * *

"As expected, Nico di Angelo didn't remember me at all" Luke Castellan walked in a dimly lit office. The curtains were drawn; a glimmer of sunlight was passing through the gap of the two curtains, illuminating lightly the desk. Behind that desk was chair where a man was sitting, blending in the shadows.

"Just keep an eye on him. Our advantage was he's inside our nest" The man in the chair said

Luke nodded "As you wish sir"

On the table, the sunlight was particularly illuminating the double sided glass desk name plate. In golden calligraphy, the name plate read: Nero Johansen, CEO. The glass was sparkling against the light.

* * *

 **So, I'm back again. I should have updated ages ago but writer's block happened. sorry. Anyway, i'll try to update regularly from now on, say like once or twice a week? Note: TRY. hahaha. Let's finish this story once and for all.**

 **You know, at first the reason i wrote this fic was bcos i was very fascinated with the idea about Nico being a death angel and Will being a doctor,the clash of life and death, then they fell in love, add a little twist, the end. Now before I knew it, it escalated into a bigger plot. To be honest, i considered just abandoning this story bcos i got confused with my own plot along the way and i suddenly lost the feels. LOL me. BUT here I am again, because maybe like you I wanted to see how this ends. And somehow, the ending of this story kept on bugging and torturing me like 'you have to write me down! give justice to this story' and ofc i felt guilty to whomever out there who's probably waiting for the updates so I relented.**

 **Anyway, i hope you will bear with me until the end. Let's see how Will and Nico will survive the odds, or will they? hahaha**

 **Please review!**

 **Thank you for reading and subscribing this story!**


	42. XL - WILL

**XL**

 **WILL**

Will's fingers flew on the screen of his phone as he made his way out of the lobby of JHH. His shift has ended and he was about to head home. Will tapped send.

 **Will (8:18): Hey. .**

 **Nico (8:19): Hi . .. What's up.**

 **Will (8:20): Just checking . . .**

Then Will's phone suddenly rang that he almost dropped his phone when he saw who was calling.

 _Nico_

Will stared at his phone. His poor heart was again in an abnormal beat. If Will hadn't known better he would diagnosed himself to have an arrhythmia. It was the reaction he would have every time he would receive a text or call from Nico. They're texting and occasionally calling for three weeks now and still, it felt like Will couldn't grasp the idea that Nico was only one _call_ or _text_ away. He didn't need to do some _drastic measures_ every time he missed or wanted to see Nico unlike before.

Will answered it and held the phone against his ear "Hello"

" _Good Morning"_

Oh gods. _Heart, please you have to calm down or else I will end up in cardiac arrest. No kidding._ Will thought as he heard the low, velvety voice of Nico di Angelo.

"Y-Yeah, hi. . ." Will bit his lip as he stopped walking and looked down at the tiled floor.

"Solace this is the third time you've said that, I've noticed. Checking what?"

Will hooked his left thumb at his jeans' pocket as he continued to stare at the floor. _I wanted to check that you didn't disappear again, that you are here, that this is real and I wasn't dreaming anymore._ He spoke "Oh, you know, the usual, checking if you're still alive and breathing. Or you are still in one peace. How about your health? Is your health okay? As a doctor, it's only natural to be concerned about that" Will knew he was rambling stupidly so he bit his lip and winced. _Lame, lame, lame!_

" _Seriously?"_

Will sighed, this time he clutched the strap of his leather body bag slung across his shoulder "If you want a shorter version, how are you?"

And Nico laughed on the other line. _Damn, damn, damn. Yep, this is real._ Will closed his eyes savouring the lingering feeling of hearing Nico's angelic laughter.

Nico spoke "Solace, we've just seen each other, yesterday and talked to the phone last night. You sounded like we've never heard about each other for ages"

"Well, a lot of things can happen in almost 12 hours . . ."

Nico laughed softly, again "Well, if you want to know how I am doing, look up"

"Huh?"

"I said look up"

Will looked up and his breath hitched as he saw Nico di Angelo standing not from afar. He was wearing a navy blue shirt and black jeans. One hand was holding on the strap of a black backpack slung on his shoulder.

"How long where you standing there?" Will said through the phone, still staring at Nico

"Just now"

"Why are you here?"

"Just so you could have the evidence that I am alive, breathing and in one peace. Satisfied?"

This time, Will couldn't help but to smile "Satisfied" Then he walked towards Nico and hang up.

"Don't you have work?" Will asked as he stopped in front of Nico

Nico rolled his eyes "I deserve a day off"

"Lucky you"

"And unlucky you, day off seemed not to be in the doctor's vocabulary"

"Exactly"

"And because you are very busy you forgot something"

Will frowned, racking his brain for something important about Nico that he stupidly forgot but his brain produced nothing "Okay. I'm an awful person, what is it that I forgot?"

"Yes, you are awful and hopeless. You just said last night that you are going to help with my research today, plus I was going to borrow the pathology book you said you have, right?"

Will groaned burying his face on his hands, with a muffled voice he spoke "I'm so sorry. I forgot. I'm really a horrible person"

"Hey, hey" Nico pried Will's hand from his face "It's fine. I understand. But are we still up for it?"

The blond looked at Nico beneath his eyelashes "Of course, I promised."

"R-right" Nico stammered looking away, flushing all of a sudden.

"Right. Let's go to my humble abode." Will clasped Nico's hand involuntarily which surprised the latter.

"I wish we could just go _poof_ like before" Will said absentmindedly as they passed the revolving door still holding hands. Nico was trailing behind

"What?" Nico looked up at the blond

"I said we are going to walk home, is that all right? It's not that far from here" Will said

"Yeah, I don't mind . . . "

* * *

Will was looking closely at Nico as he opened the door of his apartment and letting Nico inside again, after a year. Will would be lying if he didn't have other agenda for bringing Nico in his apartment, aside from the said helping of research and borrowing of book. Even if the chances were slim that Nico's memories will come back, Will wanted to remind Nico the things they used to do when they were still together or go to the places they used to go before. Hence, Will brought Nico in his apartment. As far as Will's knowledge was concerned, his apartment was the only place Nico was usually at before, when he was still a death angel.

Nico was looking around and paused to look at the frames hanging at the wall.

"I know it was kind of small . . ." Will started and closed the door behind. He leaned back at it. His hand held the doorknob.

"But it feels like home. . . "

Will's head snapped at Nico's direction. Nico was looking back at him from across

"It's cozy. . ." Nico said. Then he bit his lip as if hesitating to say something more. He exhaled "I felt nostalgic . . . even though it's my first time here, right?"

 _No, it's not._ But Will didn't answer. He didn't want to lie to Nico as much as possible. Especially, that he decided to stay by Nico's side again. Maybe, he will tell Nico about them someday soon although he still didn't know how to explain things to him. For now, Will wanted to do this slowly and not to drop everything in Nico's face at once.

Nico shook his head "I'm sorry. I'm being weird"

"No, you're not. Sit while I prepare everything."

Two and half hours later, they were sitting on the floor next to each other in front of the coffee table, while they were leaning back at the sofa. Nico's laptop was open on the table, together with books and several pages of paper scattered across. A bowl of mixed Skittles and M&M's and a plate of half-eaten sandwiches were placed under the table. They were discussing things smoothly when Nico absentmindedly reached for the M&M's under the table, but instead he got a hold of Will's thigh that made Will yelped in surprise rattling the table.

"Oh my gods! I'm so sorry!" Nico was also surprised at the same time, looked horrified. Both boys were blushing red.

"I-I was reaching f-for the M&M's. . ." Nico stammered "It wasn't. . "

He was cut off by Will's sudden laugh. Will held Nico's upper arm "It's fine. You know what, we could take a break."

Will stood up and stretched out. He groaned when his bones popped. He flopped down on the sofa behind him. Nico followed suit, sitting next to Will and rested his feet on the table. Then there's silence but not an awkward silence.

"You know. .If you didn't get any award for a research paper that you started working on early. I am going to strangle you" Will suddenly said staring at the empty space

"Thanks. The last thing I needed was pressure"

Will faced Nico as he angled his body towards him and propped his elbow "Seriously, why are you so intent on starting early. Your class was still two months away"

Nico tilted his head back on the back cushion of the sofa. He stared at the ceiling "It's just that, I wanted to divert my mind from other things instead of . . ." Nico paused

"Of what?" Will asked softly

"Thinking of the past that I can't remember"

"I'm sorry. . ." Will said and he meant it. As much as Will wanted to tell something, he couldn't. Not when he didn't even know where to start.

"It's nothing" Nico said "It's not your fault"

 _No. I think it is, because I was supposed to be saying something but I just don't know how to say it._ Will reached for Nico's hand. The latter boy looked at him inquiringly. Will kissed softly the back of his hand that made Nico's breath caught in his throat.

"W-Will. . ."

In one fluid movement, Will was straddling Nico's waist. Nico was frozen in his spot.

Will leaned forward and kissed Nico's forehead. Nico's eyes fluttered closed. Then Will proceeded to kiss the tip of Nico's nose until the blond's lips was hovering above Nico's.

"Nico. . ." Willl whispered softly, his lips still an inch away from Nico "What if your past is in front of you?"

Nico's eyes opened wide and before Nico could say anything, Will effectively shut him off with a kiss and their eyes closed. Nico responded immediately. Will couldn't help but to remember the last time they kissed like this. It was Nico's farewell kiss to him when they both thought that Nico was going to be gone for good. Will deepened the kiss as if reminding himself that Nico was there with him again and he wouldn't disappear this time.

 _This is real._ Will thought like a mantra as he trailed kisses to Nico's cheek until Will reached Nico's ear lobe and nibbled it. Nico groaned. Will smirked, he knew very well the spots that will make Nico weak to the core. So, Will continued the kiss down to Nico's jaw relishing every second that he was able to touch this man at last. Will lost count how much he had long to be this close to Nico ever since that fated day at the café, where he first saw him again. Will made his way down to Nico's neck, biting and sucking, marking every inch of Nico's skin. The blonde made one last kiss on Nico's neck and he moved up to look at Nico's angelic face, lips swollen and eyes closed.

Nico opened his eyes when he felt the lost of contact. As long as Nico found the pale blue orbs of Will, he immediately got lost in it. They stared at each other as the air hummed with familiar energy. Breath labored, heart beats fast and in sync and words that supposed to be uttered but forgotten, because in that moment, nothing else seemed to matter, just the two of them, there, holding to each other.

Even if memories fade, feelings that were buried deep within last, because it was etched down to your soul and became part of you. That was something that can't be easily taken away. The pale blue eyes tried to relay that message.

The dark brown eyes tried to decipher what is this feeling that feels so right and perfect. He might not fully understand it but it was definitely there, bubbling in the surface. As if it was there with him for a long, long, long time.

They were so caught up in their own little world that they didn't hear the keys jamming in the doorknob from the outside and the door opened. Two figures came in holding paper bags and one of them cleared his throat.

The two in the sofa jumped away from each other like there was a sudden built in spring in the sofa. They were both red in the face and looked with wide eyes at the two figures at the door.

"D-dad! Austin!" Will said flabbergasted

"Hello, son" Apollo Charleston was looking bemusedly between the two boys. He was wearing a steel brown coat and dark blue plaid pants

"Dad, I told you. This wasn't the right time to come. We should have called first" Austin said in his signature cornrows woven like DNA helixes. He was just wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans. He was trying but failing to hide a smirk.

"We've never done that before" Apollo glanced at Austin

"Well, you should have at least ring the doorbell!" Will sputtered indignantly

"We've never done that too, either " Apollo said to Will "You usually didn't care about that before. Okay, clearly we're interrupting something here."

"Yes!"

"No!"

Nico and Will looked at each other. Well, Nico was glaring and beet red and having this I-wanted-to-be-swallowed-by-the-earth-this-instant expression. Will was defiant and crossed his arms.

"Well, we're just about to drop these souvenirs from London" Apollo cleared his throat again "We can come back later-"

"No, sir!" Nico said looking wide eyed at Apollo "It's fine really. . ."

Apollo smiled at him "You're Nico, right? Long time-"

Will was like transported magically in front of his father and hugged Apollo "Dad! I miss you!" He shouted and then whispered in Apollo's ear "He's got amnesia so please don't tell anything" Will pulled apart from his father who was looking at him bewilderedly.

Will just smiled and proceeded to hug Austin "You've grown a lot, kiddo!"

Austin scowled pushing Will away "I'm not a kid anymore"

Then Will faced Nico "Nico, this is my father Apollo and my brother Austin. I've talked about you to them so they know you" Which was not entirely a lie because Will had said something about dating again when they had a skype session last time. He just didn't go into details.

"Nice to meet you sir and Austin" Nico said politely

"Well, do you have food at least, we're starving" Will continued

"Are you sure, you're starving for the food?" Austin muttered but Will heard him and kicked him in the knee. Austin just grinned hopping in one foot.

Apollo spoke "Yes, we have. Nico you should eat with us."

Nico obliged.

* * *

oo00oo

Meanwhile, in the NYPD. . .

"I'm giving you three more months, if you didn't finish the Python syndicate case, I'm sorry, but I will kick you out of the case. You've been handling this for a year now and the progress was too slow" Captain Brunner said to Percy Jackson and Jason Grace. Captain Brunner has a scruffy beard and thinning hair. He was sitting behind his desk while Percy and Jason were standing in front of him with their heads bowed. Captain Brunner was lenient to them. So the last thing the two detectives wanted was to disappoint Captain Brunner.

"We're going to do our best to solve this case sir." Percy said

"That's what I wanted to hear, one last chance for the both you. Now go and solve this fast" Captain Brunner said

The two detectives dejectedly went out of the office. Jason closed the door behind. Then he dragged Percy in the corner, out of earshot from their fellow officers.

Jason faced him and spoke in a low voice "We should use Code Aquaman and Code Blond Superman"

Percy's eyes widen in surprise "But you're the one who said that we should fight fair here. What happened to your principle, man?"

"This isn't going to be the first time we've used that in this case. And screw that principle if this case was going to be taken from us, we've invested a lot for this case including our lives remember? We couldn't just let this go after all this time. All we need was to catch the big boss and case solved"

"And you think if we used the _codes._ We'll going to catch the big boss instantly?" Percy said as he air-quoted the word codes.

"There's a big possibility. We just need to take all the chances we have especially now. There's going to be another raid in two weeks that will possibly lead to our target. That's the perfect time to use the _codes._ "

Percy exhaled "All right. Let's do that. Honestly I'm getting tired of this stupid case and if I catch that big boss, I'll chuck his head in the Hudson River"

* * *

 **My weekly update was a little bit late, but oh well. . .**

 **Thanks for reading and subscribing! Please Review!**


	43. XLI - WILL

**XLI**

 **WILL**

"So your boyfriend Nico di Angelo has amnesia?" Apollo asked. Apollo and his son, Will were at the cafeteria of JHH. They were sitting opposite to each other on one of the tables beside the window. Apollo visited him while Will was on break.

Will sighed running his fingers through his hair "Dad, it's ex-boyfriend"

"And what you were doing yesterday was the sort of thing that ex-couples do" Apollo pointed out

"Dad!" Will groaned

"Don't think we didn't notice the hickeys on Nico's neck. We're just being polite not to point that out" Apollo shrugged

"Seriously?!"

"And why couldn't you just tell him that you were his ex?" Apollo asked

Another sighed escaped from Will's lips "It's not that easy. It's complicated"

"Hence, you were doing other sort of methods instead of telling him directly" Apollo said

"That's it! I'm done with this conversation" Will was about to stand up "I'm going back to the emergency-"

"Nico deserved the truth you know" Apollo said staring at his son earnestly that made Will paused in his seat

Will looked at his father. He leaned back on the chair looking deflated "I-I don't know how to tell the truth. I don't know how to say it when I've introduce myself as a stranger to him. And then I'll just bring up that I was his ex? He'll get mad and that was the list thing I wanted. I just got him back and I don't want to drive him away just because I lied"

"Good timing then for my appearance in this neighborhood" Apollo reached for something in the inside pocket of his pristine coat. Then he put it on the table.

Will looked at it. It was two vip tickets for a classical concert at Broadway due next week. Will raised an eyebrow at his father "One of your concerts?"

"No, just a guest and that's the reason why we flew from London" Apollo said

"And maybe next time, you can give me a heads up when you're going to be here in New York" Will said

Apollo smirked "And what? So we wouldn't catch you making out with your ex-boyfriend?" He emphasized the word ex-boyfriend.

"You are not going to let this go for the rest of my life, aren't you?"

"Probably not. . . but bring Nico to the concert" Apollo tilted his head

"Bring Nico there" Apollo continued as he tapped the table where the concert tickets were "Tell him the truth after the concert maybe Nico wouldn't get that mad if you became a little bit romantic. You can tell him while there's background music to mellow out the atmosphere"

Yes. Trust his father for some dramatic flares but Will didn't look convince "How sure you are that this is going to be effective?"

"You might be surprise on what music can do" Apollo said in a sing-song voice

Will sighed "I'll think about it" but he got the tickets anyway

"How long are you going to be here?" Will asked

Apollo looked at the window overseeing the bustling night street of Manhattan. His expression changed that Will couldn't figure out "Probably we'll stay here for the time being. Besides. . ." Apollo turned his attention back at Will and smiled "Finally, Austin was now considering finishing high school. So we'll stay here until he made a decision"

"Oh really?" Will looked surprised at the same time glad "Thank goodness. . ."

Will and his father were convincing Austin for months to continue his education but Austin wouldn't budge about it.

"How did you convince him?" Will asked curiously

Apollo gave him a wicked smile "Wonders of music. That kid really fell in love with it. So I said that if he wanted to learn more about music he needs to finish high school first. If you'd ask me, music helped him a lot to get through the pain he had experience from you know. . ."

Will nodded knowingly. Austin had a rough life when he fell into the hands of a syndicate. In addition to that, Austin had witnessed how his girlfriend died because of that stupid syndicate. Now he was glad that Austin life's changed for the better. Will's phone vibrated in his lab coat. He immediately looked at it and saw that he was paged to the ER.

"Dad, I'll have to go. Sorry. Duty calls" Will raised his phone to his father

Apollo nodded standing up. Will followed suit. "All right, we're staying in our house in Brooklyn so drop by if you have free time"

"I'll try. You know the life of me" Will chuckled as they walked out the cafeteria

"That's why I never wanted to be a doctor" Apollo deadpanned

"Yes. You're doing well in the music industry-oops. Sorry" Will had bumped into someone as they went to the door

"It's fine" The man huffed. He has brown hair that hung in his green eyes. He's wearing a faded t-shirt and ripped jeans. The man paused to look up and down at Will "You're a doctor here?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Will answered. The man looked awfully familiar to Will

"Maybe you know, Agatha Lawrence? She's also a doctor here" The man said

Agatha, she's the first year resident doctor under his supervision. Will spoke "Yes I know her"

"Oh great. I'm his brother so maybe you can tell her that I was here. She wasn't answering my calls"

Will nodded uncertainly. He's feeling weird about this guy, a feeling he couldn't place and it's quite bothering him "All right. I'll let her know"

"Okay. Thanks" The man was about to walk away but seemed to change his mind as he turned again to Will "Don't you remember me?"

Will stared at the guy as he looked at the man's green eyes. There's something familiar about the way this man looked at Will, like Will had seen this look before. Something heavy was settling on Will's chest. Will swallowed "I'm sorry but. . ."

The man smiled "I am Bryce. I worked at Mary Grace restaurant. You were there with a woman and two guys. I was your waiter that time"

That's why the guy looked familiar. He went to that restaurant with Nico, Hazel and Frank after the Jewellery Exhibit. But was that all? Will felt like it wasn't.

"Oh, I see. . ." Will said

Bryce nodded "Anyway, please tell my sister that I am going to wait here for her. It's pretty urgent" Then Bryce walked away and went further in the cafeteria.

Will looked at his father who was looking steely at Bryce' retreating figure. He was surprised though, it wasn't always that his father looked so serious and a little bit scary. . .

"D-dad?"

"How peculiar. . ." Apollo mused with the same expression. His sight never leaving Bryce figure "That guy seemed to remember you among hundreds of customer going in that restaurant." Then Apollo looked back at Will "He must have a good memory"

"Huh? Well, maybe because I was with a pretty well-known person. I was with Nico's sister, Hazel Levesque, she's a famous jeweller. Her clients are A-list Hollywood celebrities. I went to dinner with her, Nico and Hazel's boyfriend"

Apollo nodded. Then he smiled, his good-natured expression was back "Maybe, it was you. You are a pretty well-known doctor"

Will rolled his eyes "Dad"

"Let's go" Apollo put his arm around Will's shoulder and went off.

"Will. . ." Apollo called when they were at the lobby and Will was about to head at the emergency room.

Will looked back inquiringly at his dad as he shove his hands on his lab coat.

"Be careful, son. Take care" Apollo smiled and went on his way

Will watched perplexedly his father's retreating figure

* * *

oo00oo

Reyna Ramirez-Arellano couldn't shake the feeling that there's something she's missing out on this burned twin building. She looked up at it from across the street. Aside from the fact that this was where Nico di Angelo had been seen last before the incident, there's practically nothing in there. She scouted the area for weeks for something or anything relevant that might help her solve Nico's case but all she had seen were ashes and blackened surroundings.

She knew that she was probably wasting time but her detective instincts seemed to be telling something different. Reyna sighed. Sometimes, she hated her instincts.

 _All right, one last time and I'm done with this building._ Reyna decided as she marched once again into the building.

She went first to the basement of the building. For starters, it was dark in there so Reyna turned on the flash light she brought. The basement was eerily quiet. Only the clinking sounds of Reyna's boots and the water dripping from the leaking pipeline somewhere could be heard. She looked around training her flash light on her line of sight. There was nothing really-

Her flashlight landed on the pile of scaffolding. Something shone on the ground under the scaffoldings; something was being reflected by the light of her flashlight. Reyna went to it and crouched down to retrieve that something.

That something turned out to be a military dog tag. Reyna inspected it. The military dog tag was owned by Henry Stevens. Reyna also inspected with her flash light the underneath of the scaffolding where she had seen the dog tag. There were clothes, foods and a fallen opened sack where probably the dog tag had come from. Reyna was frozen in her spot, because all these things weren't there before when Reyna had paid a visit. Someone was recently here.

Then she heard it, an unmistakable rustling somewhere behind her.

Reyna whipped around and trained her flashlight in nothing in particular direction. Yet, the light caught a figure that tried to hide in a nearby pillar. Reyna stood up as she retrieved her gun on her holster vest. She walked slowly and quietly towards the other side of that pillar. Her arm rose with the gun level to her chest, beneath her gun her flashlight was positioned.

Then in a quick motion, she turned around the other side of the pillar "Freeze. NYPD"

The figure gasped as she fell to the ground. It was a woman who looked like a beggar in late thirties. She tried to shield her eyes from the flashlight as she whimpered "I didn't do anything wrong! Please don't kill me"

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Reyna asked, gun still in position.

"I'm Rhea McQueen, just a beggar!" The woman said in a panicky voice "I was here because I need somewhere I can hide my stuff. Then I saw you carrying a gun I got scared. I thought you were one of the bad guys.."

"Bad guys?" Reyna raised an eyebrow

"Last year, I lived here in the basement but then a group of scary bad guys with big guns came here and treated like they own this place. So I was forced to leave from here. Then I heard there was a police raid and this place burning. I wanted to come back here when the raid was finished and the cops left the place but someone came back here from time to time at least once a month starting last October, after the raid. I think that man was from the bad guys who hadn't been caught by the police"

"Was that man blond and tanned?" Reyna asked

"No. He's not, black hair and big and muscular like Captain America. It looked like he was trying to find something here. Then he stopped coming all together last April."

"Do you have any idea what was he trying to find here?"

"I do" Rhea answered "His military dog tag"

Reyna fished out the dog tag she kept in his jeans pocket "This one?"

"Oh, you already saw it. . ."

"How did you get this? How did you know that this was what he was trying to find?"

"I found that by chance when I came here to check. Then I saw big guy came here with another guy. This another guy called big guy Henry"

"Then, if you suspected that they are bad guys. Why didn't you surrender this dog tag to the authority or tell them about it earlier!" Reyna said exasperatedly

"Hey why would I? The last thing I wanted was to be caught up in a police drama. I love my quiet life. Thank you very much. Besides, you are a cop, so technically I already told an authority."

Reyna just shook her head disbelievingly

"But you know. . ." Rhea continued thoughtfully "The reason why I clearly remember that big guy was because I saw him somewhere before here. . ."

"Where?"

"I wouldn't forget that day because it was the same day as the raid here. I was just passing by the E113th street and I saw him"

A sudden chill ran down Reyna's spine "The raid was October 20th last year. Say what time did you see this Henry guy?"

Rhea shrugged "Around 11 to 12 a.m. I reached the other place I was staying at that time at 1 a.m. and that was an hour walked from there"

Reyna cursed "Was he alone that time?"

"Yes but it seemed like he was waiting for someone. He was there alone in an empty street, sitting on the hood of his car, texting"

"What else did you see?" Reyna pushed

"Nothing else. As I've said I was just passing by. And oh, you know after that there has been a hit and run accident on that place, happened in midnight too"

Reyna let out a string of curses. Maybe, her instinct wasn't that bad at all.

* * *

 **YAY! we've reached hundreds of reviews. i love you guys! Thank you to all the lovely readers out there who continuously expressing their thoughts and sometimes *ahem* frustrations *ahem* about this story. Don't worry, I appreciate everything you were saying in the review section, from the constructive criticism on how I was going to improve the story to your own enthusiasms and feels. Thank you very much and to celebrate it, it's double update for you guys!**

 **~Nikki**


	44. XLII - NICO

**XLII**

 **NICO**

" _What if your past is in front of you?" Will's voice echoed_

 _Nico stared at those pale blue orbs like the color of cloudless sky. His heart was beating widely at his chest. What did he say? What. What. What? And when Will kissed him everything melted. His thoughts melted together with his very own existence._

 _Nico responded before his mind could order him to do so. As if his body already knew what to do. He moved like something in him recognized Will's lips and touch. But that was impossible isn't it? This was his first time kissing Will. . ._

 _And then something else happened. As Will started to assault his neck that almost reduced Nico into a puddle, another vision flashed in his head, another vision ever since the revolving door incident._

" _That in this world, you are the most important person to me now. . ."_

 _Nico gasped not entirely sure if it was because Will' continuous assault or because of the overwhelming sensation of this new vision. As usual, the vision was blurry. If there's one thing Nico was sure about, he was the one who was speaking to someone._

 _Who on earth is this someone important to him whom he forgot? Who are you?_

 _Then he pushed all those thoughts at the back of his mind because the more important to him at that moment, was Will Solace. Nico came into a conclusion that no matter how much he was trying to search for his past, the present mattered to him more. He, with Will Solace who was making him went insane with his touch and lips._

"Di Angelo! You are putting the wrong sample in a wrong test tube!" Chiara Benvenuti barked at him

Nico closed his eyes briefly. Yep, this wasn't exactly the right time to be thinking about a certain blond, not when he was in the middle of a work.

"I'm sorry" Nico said, his voice a muffled because of the safety mask he was wearing. He was also wearing a long lab coat. He faced Chiara who has her hands on her hips. She was also wearing a similar mask and lab coat. Her eyes were narrowed at him and her eyebrow raised.

"Get your head out of the gutter, di Angelo" Then Chiara moved along

"Man, stop thinking about your girl for a second. You don't want to make things explode here" Paolo, his co-worker approached him.

"It's not a girl" Nico said as he adjusted his protective gloves. He carefully tip the beaker he was holding to another test tube in the rack. He let the clear fluid from the beaker flow to the test tube.

"Tsk, di Angelo, you can't fool me. I know that look, that look that usually tells that I am currently caught up with this hot chick"

Nico put down the beaker on the stainless table. He faced Paolo "For the last time, it wasn't a hot chick. I'm gay" Then he moved along the table

Paolo was silent for a moment then he punched the air that made Nico looked at him "Chiara owed me 10 bucks"

"Please don't tell me, you're betting on my sexuality" Nico narrowed his eyes on him

"Chill, dude" Paolo patted Nico's shoulder "You'll be surprised on what other things we're betting on here. Anyway, was this guy hot too?" Paolo wiggled his eyebrows, if not for his mask; Nico would probably see an annoying smirk

Nico just gave him a mysterious look. Yet there's a smile behind his mask, probably too sappy for his taste, but he hardly care.

His day seemed to drag by, his mind seemed to be tired than usual as his mind constantly battled between a certain blond and chemical compounds. When he stepped out of the Triumvirate Laboratories, backpack slung on his shoulder, he was a little bit glad that his work was over. As he walked along the street, he texted Reyna saying that he's on his way to NYPD. He rarely saw his friend these past few days, probably too occupied by her own work. So he was going to drop by at NYPD to see her.

Then he paused when a dog suddenly barked at him from an alleyway. Nico recognized the bark

"Mrs. O'Leary!" Nico went to the alley and crouched down to pet a big black Rottweiler with a golden name tag hanging around its neck. Mrs. O'Leary wasn't his pet technically. He first saw it when he was still at the hospital after he had woken up from a coma, then when he got discharged, he saw the dog from time to time, like he was visiting him. After that, he took a liking on that dog. And that reminds him . . .

"How did you get here Mrs. O'Leary? Last time I saw you, you were at Queens then you disappeared. How. . ."

Mrs. O'Leary barked, insisting. The dog nudged him as if telling Nico to go with her.

"Sorry, but I can't go with you there" Nico continued to pet the dog

The dog whined and ran deep in the dark alley. Nico was about to go after him but stopped himself. He stood up and continued his way.

"Free taste sir" A man suddenly said to Nico when he passed a bakeshop. Nico looked at the tray, it was full of cookies and yeah, Nico was kind of starving since he skipped lunch to finish some work at the lab. So he picked up one, said a polite thank you and moved along.

He was still staring at his phone as he ate the cookies contemplating what to text to Will. He hadn't received any text from the blond today. No checking up either. He sighed probably busy too. Everyone around him was too busy. So he texted a simple what's up and hit send. He looked back at the cookies he was holding. It was good. He made a mental note to come back at that bakeshop some other time.

When he reached the NYPD, he immediately went to Reyna's desk. Most of the officers there already knew him as he was usually dropping by there to get Reyna, which sparked a rumor that they were dating. Reyna dissolved that rumor by a fierce glare to his fellow officers and probably a dropping of _I am gay_ line from Nico.

"Detective Ramirez-Arellano was out for a moment" An officer told Nico when he saw him

Nico nodded then decided to wait at Reyna's desk. He sat behind Reyna's table , putting his backpack on his lap. Reyna's desk was clattered with a lot of files which was kind of unusual. Reyna was a neat freak. The desktop screen was open revealing a car rental shop in New Jersey. Nico looked bewilderedly at it then resolve his confusion that it was probably about one of Reyna's case she was holding. He looked around the clattered files on the desk uninterestedly until something caught his eye.

Now, Nico wasn't the type who pokes on things that doesn't belong to him, especially Reyna's things. Reyna hated it when someone touches her things without her permission. But then a picture of an awfully familiar blond and tanned skin was peaking in between the pile of folders. Nico picked up that folder and open it. There, was a profile and data about Will Solace. There's a sticky note in the corner of the folder with an unmistakable hand writing from Reyna, that said:

- _With Nico at the day of the incident/rescued by Nico_

Nico's hand started to tremble. He felt like he was having difficulty to breath. He swallowed the lump forming on his throat. _Wh-What's the meaning of this?_

"Oh you're here" Reyna said oblivious to what Nico was holding as she was looking at her own folder "I'm so sorry Neeks, but I think we have to cancel our dinner today. I have to go to New Jersey as in right now because of-"Reyna paused when she saw what Nico was holding

"What's that you're holding? Nico I told you-"

"I should be the one who's asking what's the meaning of this?" Nico abruptly stood up letting his bag fell on the ground. He faced the open folder to Reyna so she can see it. Reyna's face turned guarded

Nico swallowed and in a controlled voice, he spoke "What do you mean that I was with Will at the night of incident? What do you mean I rescued him? Why I was with Will?"

"Nico" Reyna raised her hand at him "Calm down, I'll try to explain"

"Yes, please do explain!" Nico shouted unable to contain himself. Nearby police officers looked at their direction "Why do you have a profile of Will in the first place?"

Reyna walked towards Nico and held his wrist "Let's sit down first, okay?"

Nico let her guide him on a nearby worn out couch, at the same time trying to control his own temper and breath.

"The night that you got hit by a car, there was also a police raid happened a few blocks away where you got hit . . " Reyna began as they both sat "Someone saw you on the building where that said raid was happening. Then I found that you rescued Will Solace and a teen named Austin Lake. After that you're on the E 113th St and got hit by a car"

Nico rubbed his face with his hand "Since when did you know this?"

Reyna bit her lip "Weeks ago. . ."

"And you never bothered to tell me?" Nico's head snapped at Reyna and narrowed his eyes on her.

"I sort of promised Will not to tell you. Besides I don't trust him yet-"

"So you already had a chat" Nico cut off swallowing, his chest getting heavier "And who really is this Will Solace? You told me before that I was at Queens the night of my accident and I rushed off here to Manhattan for something. Don't tell me, it's because of Will. Who is Will to me?"

"Nico, I don't think I am in the proper position-"

"Well, he lied to me!" Nico said in outburst as he stood up. His breath was getting ragged but he ignored it "He said that we never met before and now I would find out that I saved him before? Why on earth he didn't tell that to me in the first place?!"

"Nico. . ." Reyna's eyebrows furrowed

"Forget it. I am just going to ask him myself" Nico ran out of the office forgetting his bag was still there

"Nico!"

But Nico was full on sprint as he headed out the NYPD, he ran out the street. Rasping in breath, he hailed a cab. A cab stopped in front of him and Nico climbed in.

"JHH" Nico said to driver as he clutched his chest.

This time, Nico couldn't ignore the fact that it felt like he swallowed a cement block and someone was clawing his throat. The oxygen in his lungs seemed to be scarcer and scarcer. Beads of sweats were trickling down the side of his face. His lips felt chapped. He tried to roll down the window to get more air but it wasn't helping. He felt itchy and his eyes started to water.

"Sir, are you all right?" the cab driver looked at Nico through the rear mirror in concern.

But Nico doesn't seem to hear him because he was thinking of the reasons why he felt like this all of a sudden. Maybe because he skipped a lunch.. ?

An idea hit Nico. He removed his coat and rolled up one of his sleeves. There are rashes coating his arm.

Nico cursed and might as well the cookies he had eaten. The cookies must have nuts and he hardly noticed. Stupid him.

His vision got blurry and he fell sideways on the seat. His eyes closed, unable to breath.

He was vaguely aware of the shouts and that he was laid to a stretcher. Then there's an oxygen mask shove in his face that he was thankful for. Then he felt that he was wheeled to somewhere. Among those shouts, he heard a familiar voice.

"Nico!"

He tried to open his eyes but manage to half-open them. There, a familiar mop of blond hair. He must be hallucinating but it felt like he saw Will glowing, like it was a scenery on one of his dreams before.

"Allergy!" Will shouted then he started to bark orders from the nurses.

"Gods, Nico did you forget your allergy with the nuts too?" Will murmured

Yes, of course, Will knew. He seemed to be the person that knew Nico well. Nico tried to hold Will's wrist and Will's head snapped at him.

"Nico. You'll be fine. I promise" Will said to him

Nico tried to speak, tried to voice out the questions he longed to ask. Instead it became his final thoughts as he succumbed into darkness.

 _If I ask you once again, will you tell me the truth now? Are you the one who's the most important person to me in this world whom I forgot?_

* * *

oo00oo

The rain started to pour down in the harbour suddenly in the middle of the night. Amidst of the rain, Percy Jackson, threw a man in the middle of the ground. The said man coughed out the water out of his lungs.

"One last time, who on earth is your boss?" Percy Jackson, drenched by the rain, crouched down next to the man

"I-I don't know" The man sputtered

"Tut-tut. That's not the answer I want. You want to drink water from the Hudson River again?" Percy asked

"N-No. . ." The man whimpered

"Then tell me. My patience is running thin"

The man swallowed "C-Cobra, his name is Cobra"

"Is that your big boss?" Percy raised an eyebrow

"N-no, b-but he knows the big boss. He contacts him directly. We didn't have any idea who's the big boss"

"Where is he?"

"In New Jersey, he owned a car rental shop there"

"Dude, if you're not telling me the truth. You're going to have another bath in the Hudson River and I'll make sure you won't get out of the surface" Percy said

"Please, don't! I am telling the truth" The man wailed

"All right" Percy clapped the man in the back cheerily "I believe you, but if I learned that you lied to me. You won't like the next time we meet again"

The man whimpered more.

"You done here?" Jason asked appearing at Percy's side. He was wearing a raincoat.

Percy stood up, grinning "Yes. He almost got away but interrogation done. Anyway, we are going on a trip to New Jersey."

* * *

 **So I estimated that after this chapter there will be at least ten to 13 (depends) chapters and we'll wrap up this story. I was surprised though, I thought it will be longer and when i consulted my notes, yep.. we're getting near at the end.**

 **Next update next week, probably. Is Will really going to tell the truth now?** **Stay tuned!**

 **Thank you for reading and subscribing and as usual reviews ladies and gentlemen.**

 **~Nikki**


	45. XLIII - NICO

**XLIII**

 **NICO**

Nico slowly opened his eyes. There's a stream of sunlight coming from the window on his side that made him winced. He shielded his eyes with his hand from the light. Then he saw that something was taped on the back of his left hand. He realized that it was an IV needle connected to an IV bag. He sat up. The blanket covering him fell on his lap. He looked around and saw that he was in a small room with bare walls. He was even wearing a pair of hospital long sleeves and pants. Last night's events came flooding on him. He glanced at the door briefly wondering if a certain blond doctor will come. He also checked his arms, the rashes were gone and he felt fine now.

There's a knock on the door. His heartbeat spiked up on the thought that it was Will. The door opened. Nico swallowed. A nurse came in, he recognized her, Lou Ellen. She's a friend of Will. They were already introduced to each other a few weeks ago, courtesy of Will. Nico didn't know if he will be disappointed or not because it wasn't Will.

"Hi, Nico, glad to see you awake. Feeling better now?" Lou greeted. She was holding a sphygmomanometer, an instrument used on measuring blood pressure, and a small rectangular stainless tray with a syringe on it.

"Yes, feeling better. Thank you" Nico answered

"You almost gave Will a heart attack last night" Lou said as she put down the tray and the sphygmomanometer on the bed side table. She reached for the lever under Nico's bed. The upper frame of the bed was raised and served as a headboard. Lou gently pushed Nico back so he was leaning to it "You've got a severe allergy that you almost stopped breathing. . ."

"Oh. . ." Nico looked down at his hands on his lap. He didn't realize how bad his allergy was last night.

"But of course, Will saved the day and you're awake now" Lou said cheerily "Any pain or discomfort?"

Nico shook his head

"See, Will knows how to care of you" Lou winked at him that made Nico bright red in the face

"Now let's check your BP. Arm please" Lou continued as Nico lifted his right arm. Lou strapped the inflatable rubber cuff around his upper arm. She attached the ear buds of stethoscope on her ear and the put the bell of stethoscope at the edge of the cuff. She started pumping the bulb of sphygmomanometer as she stared at meter gauge.

Then Lou removed the ear buds from her ear and removed the cuff from Nico. She spoke "110 over 80 normal. I'll give you another shot of antihistamine, okay?"

Nico just nodded again "Uh, when am I going to be discharged?"

"That, you'll have to talk to your doctor" Lou said as she injected the syringe through the IV line "Doc Solace will be here in a moment. He's just taking rounds with his other patients"

Nico just bit his lip but made no further comment.

"Okay. My job's done here. Take care Nico" Lou said. She gathered her things and walked out the room.

A few moments had passed that felt like hour to Nico, another knock came. Then the door opened as Will Solace stepped in. Will looked so tired and needed a plenty of sleep, yet he managed to smile brightly at Nico. He closed the door behind.

Will didn't say anything as he walked towards him. Nico just looked at him quietly.

"Is your rashes gone?" Will asked almost rhetorically as he lifted Nico's arm and pushed up the sleeve. Nico noticed how warm Will's hands were, a soothing kind of warm that will make you feel like everything was okay, and you don't have to worry because his touch is a reassurance itself. Will hummed approvingly and checked Nico's other arm. Then the blond started to check for the heart rate with his stethoscope.

Nico knew that it was probably the right time to say something, with all the things he wanted to ask and say to Will, he should probably start talking now. He was even surprised to himself that he was not making any outburst yet.

Will nodded as he pulled out the stethoscope from his ear and put it on the pocket of his lab coat. He dragged a nearby chair as Nico buttoned up his clothes from the chest up where the stethoscope had gone into. Will sat next to Nico's bed.

Will crossed his thighs as he leaned back on the chair. He drummed his fingers on his thigh "Hazel was on her way here. She wanted to come here last midnight as soon as I gave her a call but I advised that she should just come in the morning. Meanwhile, Reyna dropped your things to me last night, she wanted to stay long but she said she has an urgent business in New Jersey. I'll give your things to you later"

Nico just nodded looking down as he played with frayed spot of the blanket on his lap. Actually, Nico didn't know what to say first because it felt like all his thoughts were rushing to him all at once.

"Reyna said that you know your allergy with the nuts, so what happened? Will asked

"I got distracted for a while and didn't notice that I was eating something with nuts . . " Nico murmured

Will exhaled "If the cab driver who rushed you here were a little bit too late, you could have died"

"How did you know that I was allergic to nuts?" Nico started as he found the courage to look up at Will

Will looked confused "Of course, I would know, I am a doctor. I know when an allergy strikes to a person"

"No. How did you know that I was allergic to nuts in particular? I could be allergic to a lot of things but how did you know that it was nuts? Can doctors detect that now?"

"Oh. . ."

There's silence again as Nico looked at the window

"Why aren't you asking me?" Will said quietly. Nico snapped his head to Will "Reyna told me that you already knew. Go ahead, ask what you've been dying to ask for"

"Will you tell me the truth now? Or will you just lie to me again?" Nico spat the last part

Will pursed his lips then spoke "I gave up. . ."

"What?" Nico's brows furrowed

Will spoke as he looked down at his hands "I thought that you already left me and you're not coming back anymore. Heck, I didn't even know that you got into an accident. And then when I coincidentally saw you at that café after a long time and realized that you had an amnesia, it felt like that your amnesia just solidified the fact that I am no longer part of your life. Because at the end, there's still the fact that, we broke up. So I simply gave up and lied to you instead."

Nico swallowed, his heart was drumming on his chest "Who are you Will Solace?"

Will looked up at him. His pale blue eyes seemed to be brighter under the sun light streaming through the window. Nico knew at that moment, that it was the same blue eyes that hunted his dreams before.

"I. . ." Will began "I am that someone who used to be the most important person to you in this world. . ."

Nico sucked in breath. He closed his eyes savoring the feeling of truth lingering in the air, as if he could taste it, it was like honey and it was the sweetest thing of all. After all, Will Solace was the period who will put a stop to the series of question marks in Nico di Angelo's life. Will was the truth and statement that Nico had been searching for a long time.

"I'm sorry that I lied. . ."

Nico opened his eyes and looked at Will. Will was looking at him bashfully – no, he seemed more afraid as the blond bit his lip. Nico realized that Will was afraid that he was mad at him.

Nico raised an eyebrow at Will.

"I-I get it that you're mad, you have every right to be. I know it sounds like I was just making excuses. I'm so sorry . . . " Will was rambling and it felt like the blond wanted to shrink away.

Nico spoke "You know how much it was frustrating to me that I couldn't remember; you could have helped me in spite of everything. You could have made everything a lot easier. . ."

Will flinched and bowed his head. He spoke quietly "It's fine if you couldn't forgive me easily-"

"So I'm the ex-boyfriend who forgot about you?"

Will snapped his head to look at Nico, his bright blue eyes were wide "What?"

"I said if I was the ex-boyfriend who forgot about you?"

"Uh, yes"

"I'm the guy whom you missed everyday and the one you couldn't forget no matter how hard you tried?"

Will's ears reddened "Yes"

"I'm the one who told you to find new love and who told you not to wait for me anymore"

"Yes"

"I'm such a jerk"

"Yes"

And just like that they were laughing, everything was brilliant and clear like how the sun was shining outside.

"So, I take it that you're not mad at me?" Will was beaming

Nico snorted "Don't push your luck buddy"

Will smiles faltered

This time Nico was the one who beamed at him "Kidding"

"Oh my gods" Will leaned forward as he covered his face with his hands. His elbows propped on his thighs. With a muffled voice, he spoke "I really thought that you're mad. . . "

Yes, maybe he was mad at first but he couldn't stay mad for long when the happiness of knowing the truth dominated that anger. Nico shrugged "A little bit of revenge sounds fun"

Will looked up gaping at him "Revenge?" Then the blond sighed as he raised his hands in defeat "All right, I know I deserve that. I lied. I made things harder for you. I get it"

Nico just tilted his head to Will, his eyes twinkled as he smiled.

Will stared at him. He cleared his throat "S-So, are we cool now? Are we okay?"

Nico nodded as Will sighed in total relief "After all, I was the jerk who told you not to wait for me anymore. Honestly, why would I tell you that?"

Something passed on Will's face, but it was long gone even before Nico could figure out what that is. Will reached for Nico's hand and squeezed it "Not really, you're not a total jerk, you have your reasons for doing that. Let's talk about that some other time. We all have the time in this world to talk. For now, you should rest. Hazel is coming soon"

Nico frowned a little bit on Will's statement, _what could be his reasons are?_ But he let it passed for the mean time and as Will said, they all have the time in this world to talk. "All right, so when am I going to be discharged doc?"

"This afternoon" Will stood up as he released Nico's hand. Nico frowned at that again, he liked holding Will's hand, it's warm. Will continued to speak "I already signed your discharge paper"

The blond turned as if to walk away

"Where are you going?" Nico asked hastily

Will looked back at him amusedly and Nico blushed at that

"I-I mean, you just got here and you're going away again" Nico mumbled. And he couldn't believe he just said that. He looked like a child who was robbed out of a candy. How could he even say something like that? It was embarrassing even though there's a truth that he didn't want Will to leave just yet.

Will chuckled "Sunshine, I'll be back. My shift was over so I will just change my clothes and be here again"

"Oh. . ." Nico gazed at Will. He didn't know if he would be able to admit this to Will but, Will looked really hot in scrubs and long white coat.

"What?" Will raised an eyebrow at him

"Nothing" Nico squeaked. Now, Nico was seriously wondering on what this blond doctor did to him that Nico di Angelo was reduced to squeaking and felt like he was reverted back to a 7 year old. It wasn't like him.

Will nodded "Okay" He walked off.

He was only three steps away when Will made a U-turn and made two strides towards Nico. The blond held the side of Nico's head and tilted it. Will reached for Nico's lips. It was deep and Nico felt like he was a machine overheating and ready to combust. Nico gasped and before he could respond, Will pulled away.

"Gods damn it, di Angelo" Will's blue eyes were blazing as he stared at Nico "I am breaking every patient-doctor protocol out here so stop being so irresistible" Then Will's lips was at Nico's ear making Nico shiver. Will breathed in Nico's ear "And stop coming here looking half-dead and scaring the shit out of me"

Before Nico could blink back, Will was gone as he heard the door slamming closed leaving Nico in one heap of a mess.

 _The feelings are mutual, Solace._

* * *

"Man, I told you it will take forever to get a request for this investigation!" An ear-piece was attached to Jason's ear as Percy complained on the other line. They were already in New Jersey at the break of the dawn, and since New Jersey wasn't on their jurisdiction, they have to get permission to the New Jersey Police Department.

"At least, we're following a protocol, dude, just get on with it and that's why it's good that I'm already here" Jason, gun in hand, was stealthily walking in a narrow alleyway "Cobra might get away while the permission grant was being processed"

"Ugh fine. Just make sure that stupid cobra wouldn't get away" Percy said

Jason chuckled "Blond superman wouldn't let that happen"

Jason froze when he reached a corner. There's another alleyway on his right and there's a presence in there.

"Roger that" Percy said and disconnected

Jason pressed his back on the wall. He took a deep breath and count on three.

3, 2, 1. . .

He whipped around, gun raised. His eyes widen when he realized that he was face to face with none other than, Detective Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, the latter detective was mirroring Jason's expression, guns pointing at each other.

"W-what. . ." Jason sputtered in surprise as he lowered his gun. Reyna did the same

"What on earth are you doing here?" Reyna asked

"Investigation" Jason answered

Their eyes locked for a brief moment

"Are we perhaps investigating the same person?" Reyna asked

"Henry Stevens" They said simultaneously

"Damn"

"Shit" But Jason was grinning "Welcome to the club, detective"

* * *

 **1\. Now say sphygmomanometer ten times. Man, I'm never going to look at that BP instrument the same way again.**

 **2\. Not entirely sure what encompasses a patient-doctor protocol but Will definitely tried and failed to be professional at work, not that we don't like it *winks*. Same as the crime investigation protocol, not entirely sure about the whole process but let it be for the sake of this story.**

 **3\. The whole chapter had taken a different path, it wasn't suppose to end up in a fluff sort of way but okay, i realized that they deserve it before I ruin everything again, maybe. *smirks***

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Please review**

 **Thank you fro subscribing!**

 **~Nikki**


	46. XLIV - NICO

**XLIV**

 **NICO**

Nico got discharged in the hospital. Hazel, despite being worried sick to Nico, had to go back to work immediately because of an important meeting that she couldn't refuse to attend to. She was apologizing profusely, even though Nico had sincerely said that it was fine, rolled his eyes at some point and got annoyed a little bit for repeating the _'Hazel, it's fine, I'm not going to die staying in the apartment'_ line for a hundredth time. Her sister promised that she'll be back immediately after that said meeting and after cancelling her other appointments for that day. Hazel even made Will to swear on his life to take care of Nico while she's gone. Nico had to scowl at that and for treating him like a baby. And honestly, Nico felt like they were going overboard.

"You almost died!" Hazel reasoned which Nico couldn't argue about.

So, it was Nico and Will on Nico's apartment. They were both on the bed. Will was resting his back on the headboard while Nico's head was on the pillows and lying flat on his back. The dark-haired guy was staring at the ceiling while Will let his eyes wander around the room.

"Why am I not surprised that your room is monochromatic as you?" Will muttered

Nico chuckled. He rolled to his side as he hoisted himself up and propped his elbow to the mattress "So, tell me something about us _before_ "

"You should be resting" Will reprimanded

Nico rolled his eyes and flopped back to bed "Gods you're bad as Hazel"

Will snorted "I'm a doctor. I know better"

"Don't use your profession on me, William. I know my body better"

Will sighed in defeat yet his voice seemed cautious "All right. What do you want to know?"

Nico continued to look up at the ceiling "Reyna said I saved you and your brother last year. Is that true? How did you end up there?"

"Austin was an adoptive brother. . ." Will began "He was my patient last year when he got a stab wound in the chest. He's a primary witness for a syndicate that time. The same syndicate who got him a stab in the chest. ."

Nico winced

"At that time also, he's got a girlfriend that has been captured by that syndicate. So when Austin woke up, that syndicate used his girlfriend to lure Austin back to them. They wanted to silence Austin for good because of what he knew about them. But despite the danger, Austin still went after her. I couldn't leave that kid alone, so I went after him. I wanted to convinced him to get help from the police but it was too late when we ran into Python –the, I don't know, operational boss, supervisor of the gang? Austin said that he's not the actual boss as in like the president of the entire syndicate. Although he has no idea too, who is. Anyway the point here is, we got captured and Austin's girlfriend still died in the end. Then when I was about to think that it was the end for me too at that moment, you came, beating up Python's sorry ass. And that was also the last time I saw you"

"Where's Python now?" Nico asked

"Dead"

"Did I kill him?"

"Yes"

"Good. I don't want him bothering you again, just in case he was able to get away"

Will was silent

"What do you mean about that was the last time you saw me? Did I run away or something?"

"You were just. . . _gone_ " Will answered after a brief pause "I didn't know where you went. Then I learned that the very same night you got hit by a car a few blocks away from where you saved us"

Nico frowned "Where would I go that time?"

"Sssh, stop over thinking" Will moved closer to Nico and kissed Nico's temple "Now that I told you something. Rest now. We could talk about our whole past later"

"Last question, what's our relationship looked like" Nico looked up at Will

Will's eyes glittered as he smiled "We argued a lot because you're so stubborn"

Nico rolled his eyes again "Was it really me? Or you're just putting the whole blame on me"

"Oh shush you. Be thankful, that I love you or else I wouldn't put up with your stubbornness"

Nico paused as his face started to heat up "Uhm, do you –do you still feel the same until now?"

This time, Will was the one who rolled his eyes "I think the answer to that was _so_ obvious or I wouldn't be this miserable when you went away"

"In the magazine. . ." Nico reached for Will's hand and intertwined their hands together "Hazel noticed that your eyes looked so sad. You looked sad. Did I do that to you?"

Will was looking down at their intertwined hands "Yes you made me sad but I really don't blame you for it because you made me the happiest at the same time. Besides, it's all in the past now. The more important is, _now._ You're here again, beside me, holding my hand."

"I'm sorry that I caused you that sadness. I'm sorry that I can't remember-"

Will shut Nico up with a kiss. When the blond pulled away, he spoke in a soft voice "It's not your fault that things happened the way they are. After all, it still led you here with me. You. Here. Now. That's all l care about"

"Thank you. . ."

"Now, sunshine, let's cuddle up. I wanted to sleep too before my shift starts again" Will slid down and snuggled closer to Nico.

Nico smiled at the familiar warmth before he drifted to sleep. It felt like home. . .

* * *

Nico was positive that he was lost in the maze like corridor of Triumvirate Labs when he was asked to bring a file to the office of Mr. Rodriguez. He already went to work the next day after he got discharged, despite Hazel's disapproving look.

But Nico couldn't locate the office. There's no one he could ask when he reached the floor where the office would be because no one was around. Nico looked around. He was in a narrow corridor with dark blue tiled wall. The light here was dim. The floor was carpeted in a same shade of blue.

He reached the end of the corridor. At the end, there was a big steel door. He approached it. The door was like heavy-vaulted and there was no handle nor door knob. Only a small rectangular pad on the side of the door. It looked like a screen where you have to swipe for the right pattern for the door to open.

Nico wasn't sure if this was Mr. Rodriguez office. Was his office supposed to have a heavy-vaulted door with a sophisticated lock? Nico absentmindedly touched the door.

 _Please help us. . ._

Nico froze

 _Let us go. . ._

Nico took a step back as he looked at the door wide eyed. It felt like he heard voices behind this door.

 _Please help us._

Was he hallucinating?

 _Please. . ._

No, he was sure that he heard the voices.

"Nico!"

Nico jumped out of his skin and spun around. Chiara was marching towards him with an angry look at her face

"What are you doing here?" Chiara hissed at him

"Uh, I was supposed to bring this to the office of Mr. Rodriguez . ." Nico raised the folder he was holding

"And do this look like the office of Mr. Rodriguez?" Chiara said angrily even though Nico didn't know why she was so angry. "The office is in the lower ground you idiot. This is the underground basement and we are strictly not allowed to be here. I got notified when the security saw you on the cctv"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know"

"You could have asked me! I swear we could be in trouble by just going down here" Chiara said, still fuming "Come on now."

"B-but wait!" Nico said "I heard voices behind this door, are there people inside?"

And then Chiara gave him the strangest look ever "Nico, this is a soundproof area. How could you hear someone from on the other side?"

"B-but what's behind this door?"

Chiara looked exasperated "I don't know. No one knows. No one can even pass the security of this hall and I don't even know how you got here"

"Well, no one's guarding when I came in" Nico muttered

"That's not the point. There are still cctv cameras around. We should really go. I've just given a few minutes to collect you"

Unknown to them someone was looking at them from the corner, with a hard look on his face.

* * *

 **oo00oo**

"Sir" Luke Castellan entered Nero Johansen's office. Nero was sitting behind his desk. The office was dim as ever.

"It was like you predicted, Nico di Angelo can hear the voices in the underground basement. What should we do now? What if he does something about it?"

"Nico di Angelo isn't a regular mortal from the beginning" Nero said amusedly "Besides, he won't act for the mean time. He doesn't remember anything, right?"

"Then what if he suddenly remembers?" Luke Castellan asked

"Then we kill him, like we were supposed to do long time ago"

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Thank you for subscribing and reviewing! And as always don't forget to review!**


	47. XLV - WILL

**XLV**

 **WILL**

 _ **Nico, you're a former death angel that's how we met-**_

 _No, that seemed so blunt, Nico will probably consider calling people holding straight- jackets and send me off to the nearest mental institution_. Will tapped the erase button on the screen of his phone. He was sitting on the chair in the on-call room. A soft hue ray of sun light was passing through the window behind Will. He was biting his thumb and he was tapping his foot absentmindedly on the floor while lost in his own thoughts. The desk was littered with several thick medical text books, his white coat was thrown haphazardly across, a coffee cup sitting in the corner and his laptop was opened and the screen was paused to a video showing an actual human heart being stitched.

Will was watching a video about mitral valve replacement when Nico's texts distracted him. And Will was starting to freak out about that. Nico was starting to bombard him (again) with questions about _them,_ more specifically about their _past._ And Will couldn't answer his questions without entering the subject of Nico's former death angel life. He successfully managed to avoid that topic before because he still has no idea how to explain everything to Nico and not to sound like . . . insane.

 _If I could just present some sort of evidence._ Will thought bitterly. Days after the discovery about the ER staff forgetting about Nico's existence and after Will told his friends about the existence of death angels, bizarre things started to happen. It happened first when Lou Ellen _accidentally_ deleted the only copy of Will and Nico's picture together holding hands in the 3rd Avenue. Then the picture frame of them together in Will's apartment broke and the picture in the frame _accidentally_ got soaked on the wet surface of the counter in the kitchen. Thus, the picture got destroyed. And when Will was looking at the camera roll of his phone, he noticed that all of the pictures of Nico and them together were just gone when no one's touching his phone. Will concluded that it wasn't mere coincidence when the last bizarre thing and the most painful one happened; Nico's writing on his letter for Will disappeared too. When Will checked on the letter, he was staring at a blank white sheet of paper. As if erasing the memories wasn't enough, someone out there in the universe was deliberately trying to erase everything Nico and Will had before. Will was mad at this but it was harder when he didn't know where his anger will be directed at. It was more frustrating. In addition to that frustration, the blond felt like there's really someone out there who's strongly against for him and Nico to be together. And someone was stopping him from telling Nico everything.

Whomever that was, Will was not going to let Nico be out of his sight ever again. He's going to fight back even if the whole universe conspired against them. He's not going to give up anymore when they've been through a lot all this time.

Will started to type again.

 _ **The truth is, our love is forbidden-**_

Will briefly closed his eyes. They weren't in some sort of Romeo and Juliet era. He erased it.

 _ **Actually, Nico you're an angel without wings-**_

Will rolled his eyes, couldn't he be more dramatic? Although there was some truth in it. Will needed to be at least subtle and sensible about it.

 _ **Nico, please listen to me and please believe what will I tell you, your former job was to pick souls-**_

Yeah, as if picking souls as a former job was subtle and sensible enough. Will started to bang his forehead on the table. He was ready to throw his phone to the wall and smashed it. At least this will give him an excuse not to reply to Nico. Can he just google about the ways on how to reveal that you are a former death angel? Actually, Will had considered that for a second and he wanted to bang his head some more for actually considering it.

"What are you doing?"

Will looked up. Kayla was standing in front of him. She seemed to be out from a surgery. She was in light green scrubs. Her hair was in ponytail and there was a scrub mask tied around her neck.

Will straightened up "How do you tell someone that he's a former death angel?"

Kayla answered "Oh wait let me ask my death angel friend"

Will stared at Kayla "You don't have one"

"Exactly"

"Touché"

* * *

Actually, the bizarre things didn't stop. It happened again the next day on Will's shift. Yet this time, it wasn't about Nico and Will. It was probably about something more. . .

It all started as normal night like any other nights before. Will was walking down the hall of JHH when he saw Agatha Lawrence, the ever faithful resident doctor, walking towards his way. She was looking down at the floor. And that reminded Will of something. He approached Agatha.

"Dr. Lawrence, how's your brother? Did you talk when I called you last time to tell that he was here?" Will asked Agatha

Agatha looked up at Will startled and she paused, as if this was the only time she noticed that Will was in front of her "Oh, Dr. Solace, sorry. I was spacing out. What was it again?"

"I said your brother, how was he? Did you talk when he visited the hospital?"

At the mention of his brother, her expression became sad and worried.

"What's wrong?" Will asked

"I never saw Bryce after our talk" Agatha began, eyes started to well up "He never came home. He wasn't answering my calls anymore. He even resigned on the restaurant he's working at. He wasn't like that. He used to be a caring brother before but he suddenly changed last year at the start of fall. After that, it felt like I didn't recognize my own brother. He's always yelling at me when he never done that before. I'm worried about my brother. I don't know what's going on with him. ."

Will rubbed her arm in sympathy.

"I think he left our apartment for good" Agatha continued "He's always telling me about leaving the apartment because he didn't want to live with a nuisance like me anymore. The brother I knew wouldn't do that because the he promised me that he'll take care of me after our parents died. I guess people really do change huh"

This time, Will hugged Agatha as she started to sob in Will's shoulder. After a while when Agatha had calm down, Will decided to let Agatha accompanied him to his rounds with his patients. This will at least help Agatha take her mind off on his brother.

They reached another hallway in the corner. Agatha was holding three medical charts. They both saw Dr. Lee Fletcher not from afar. He was talking to two people, their backs hunched together and one of them was a woman covering her face as if crying.

"Huh, that's Mr. Paxton's family" Agatha commented as they both neared the latter doctor. Then she became worried "Oh, no what happened to Robert, he didn't die, did he?"

When the family left, Dr. Fletcher looked deflated as well.

"Dr. Fletcher" Agatha approached him. Will tailing behind "Is Robert all right?"

Dr. Fletcher looked at her "He's in coma"

Agatha looked flabbergasted "W-what? B-but that's impossible. He was stable yesterday. He was even laughing when I talked to him"

Lee Fletcher turned his head on the glass window, inside was a man in fifties, unconscious. Several tubes were hooked to his body "That's what I thought too. But earlier, he wasn't responding. He's not brain dead either" Then he sighed "Anyway, I'll have to go to see Mr. Paxton's lab results" He gave a curt nod at Will before leaving

Will and Agatha glanced briefly at the unconscious man before they went to their patient. Will knocked on the door just beside Mr. Paxton's room. No one responded so he opened it to see that, only the unconscious woman in his thirties in the bed was inside the room.

"I wonder where the family is" Will said as he stepped inside together with Agatha.

"Look at her chart" Will ordered to Agatha " She was just transferred to me earlier. She had a CABG surgery three days ago. It's successful but she's in state of coma. Let's see what's wrong with her" The latter doctor nodded and opened one of the medical charts she was holding. Will, on the other hand, pulled out his stethoscope and check for the heart rate and breathing. They were normal.

"There's nothing wrong with her, with Martha Robinsons" Agatha looked up at Will

"What?" Will straightened up pulling down the earbuds of stethoscope from his ears. The stethoscope hung around his neck.

"All vital signs stable. Blood tests and EKG are normal. No internal haemorrhaging so far and no formation of sepsis. Post-ops were actually good" Agatha stated

"Seriously?" Will approached Agatha and looked at the medical chart. Afterwards, he looked up at the patient then back at Agatha "Then why on earth, she's in coma? No, do a CT Scan. If she's not responding, there might be something on the head"

"Yes, doc" Agatha said "Her case seemed similar to Robert"

Will sighed "I'll consult Dr. Fletcher about Mr. Paxton's case, later. Let's go to the next patient"

Fortunately, they didn't have any problem with the next two patients. The doctors came up easily with a diagnosis and gave their patients the immediate medical care they needed. However, the oddities of patients came again when Will was back at the ER.

"Patient Justin Ambrosse' CT scan and lab results came out clean" Lou Ellen reported to Will

Will was staring at the young boy no older than 12, lying on the hospital bed unconscious. The patient was initially reported to slip out from bathroom floor hitting his head resulting to mini bump on the head and became unconscious after that. Aside from the bump there were no serious injuries.

"Dr. Solace!" Agatha came running back to Will "Martha Robinsons' CT scan is out. The result is normal"

Will bit his lip still staring at patient "Lou, call Dr. Alistair and have him check on him" Then he turned to Agatha "Monitor Martha Robinsons' condition first. Check for any progress"

Will thought that he's about to lose his wits as he came to another patient. He turned to Kayla who reported him another strange patient.

"How could you be in coma after getting out your appendix?" Will said almost to himself

"Her appendicitis wasn't severe. It's been two days now going three after the appendectomy procedure but she's not waking up. She wouldn't respond to any stimuli such as pain. Her pupils wouldn't even respond to light." Kayla glanced at the another unconscious teenage girl in the bed.

Will turned back to the patient. He absentmindedly held the patient's hand. Suddenly, the girl's hand seemed colder, like dead cold. Will looked down and that's when he noticed that he's glowing. Will tried to diffuse his glow, the patient's hand was back to being warm. Will glowed again and the hand's temperature turned cold. Will paused.

"I'll be right back" Will told Kayla as he ran out of the room.

"W-what? Hey!"

If there's one thing that Will had diagnosed among those four coma patients without clear reasons so far, their temperature turned ice cold when he glowed and touched them. This was the first time that he encountered something like this.

As if all those patients couldn't decide if they're going to side with life or death.

* * *

"Man, Stevens could ran like a cheetah" Percy declared as he and Reyna ran across the dark alley

They were still in New Jersey. After days of stake out, Henry Stevens finally showed up but of course he made a mad dash when he realized that the cops were after him. So the chase had started.

Reyna just snorted "And where on earth is Detective Grace?"

"Oh, don't worry, he's just somewhere, taking the different route chasing Stevens" Percy answered, impressed by his fellow detective's strong stamina on long running. She didn't seem to be getting out of breath.

"And what route would he use? Does Detective Grace know well the streets of New Jersey?" Reyna frowned

"No he doesn't. But he's probably familiar with the sky route" Percy said

"What?"

"Oh look!" Percy pointed ahead "Target's on sight"

Surely, Henry Stevens emerged not from afar but he's gaining speed again.

"Oh no. You're not getting away, you bastard" Percy said

Far ahead, when Henry reached a corner, a water pipe suddenly burst on his side making him yelped in surprise. He stumbled forward that slowed him down. Yet he regained his balance and turned to the corner. But then, Henry stumbled back again, backing to the nearest wall where there was a flickering lamp post above. Jason Grace emerged from that corner pointing a gun to Henry. Henry pulled out a small knife from his pocket but before he could use it. The knife flicked out from his hand.

"What the-"

"Just freeze. You are surrounded" Jason declared

"Good job bro!" Percy said as he and Reyna approached Jason

"Oh great!" Henry rolled her eyes "The great detectives of Manhattan"

"I'm flattered that you know us" Percy said

"Who's your boss?" Reyna asked straightforwardly. Not seemingly interested in doing the proper interrogation at the police station

"So, this were you interrogate me then?" Henry said "I at least expected a good accommodation-"

All of a sudden, Henry started to choke. Percy and Jason looked at each other wide eyed. Henry gasped as he slid down the floor

"Hey! What's happening to you?" Reyna crouched down holding Henry's shoulder

"Son of a b*tch. . " Henry gasped again grasping his neck "Betrayed. . ."

"Who?" Reyna asked "Who betrayed you?"

But Henry couldn't speak. He was starting to turn blue.

"Syndicate. . boss " Henry instead grasped Reyna's arm. He's looking at Reyna straight to the eye "Hit and run. . . "

"At 113th street Manhattan New York, October 20th last year's hit and run case, you know who's the culprit?"

Henry was nodding. He rasped "Syndicate. . . boss"

"Then who's the boss?" Reyna asked again clutching Henry's arm "Answer me"

Henry was trying to say something but couldn't get the words out of his mouth. Instead, his eyes flickered on the ground. A newspaper was lying beside him. He grasped it and drew his final breath.

Later, when the three detectives looked at it, there was only one picture on the front page of the newspaper. A man was seemingly waving in the crowd. Above the picture, bold black letters were written.

 _The Triumvirate Laboratories' relevant contributions to the modern biological technology._

It was a picture of Nero Johansen.

"When we got back to Manhattan, don't tell any police officer about this" Reyna said "Just tell them that you didn't get any info from Henry Stevens because we're too late and he already died"

Percy sighed running his fingers on his already messy jet black hair "Yeah, we get it where you're heading with this. This wasn't the first time that a lead suspect died in the middle of interrogation. Several leads died before. One of those died while inside the interrogation room. He died due to cyanide poisoning in his drink, a drink that came inside the NYPD. So an accomplice among the police ranks isn't possible. That's pobablywhy it was taking this long to solve this case. I'll bet 20 bucks that Henry Stevens also died from the same poison"

"A stunt like that from a big syndicate is not really possible. And hypothetically speaking, if Nero Johansen was the person behind all of this" Jason shook his head "We're dealing with big time people. You can always have your ways when you have billions of dollars in hand"

"That's why keep your mouth shut, for the time being" Reyna said "I have a feeling that we're dealing with something more than a suspected multi-billionaire business tycoon. . . Probably something more evil and sinister. . . "

* * *

 **I cud have updated days earlier but ff was down for uploading any docs. thankfully the site was back to normal again so here's an update. i'll probably update another one or two this week if i finished the chapter early. so stay tuned!**

 **Please review!**

 **Thank you for reading and subscribing!**


	48. XLVI - NICO

**XLVI**

 **NICO**

Nico was sure that he heard a familiar bark from a dog. He stopped and surveyed the crowd around the lobby of Broadway theater. Yet how could Mrs. O'Leary be inside the Broadway? Unless the dog was following him like before. The dog seemed to be appearing out of nowhere even in the most restricted places. Then again, Nico dismissed immediately the ridiculous thought of having a dog stalker.

"Nico?"

Nico turned his head. Will Solace was ahead of him. The blond's head was tilted to the side and looking inquiringly at him. Right. Will invited him to go to a concert where his father, Apollo Charleston, was a guest performer. Until now, Nico was still struck by how much Will and his father was so similar in the features. They could even pass as siblings if you wouldn't look closely.

"Are you okay?" Will asked as Nico approached him

Nico nodded "Yep. Everything's good"

Will stared at Nico for a moment then he nodded as he held Nico's hand "All right, let's go"

"So my father will have two performances for the night" Will announced looking down at the concert booklet he was holding. They were already inside the music hall and sitting in the VIP section. "One is with the main performer and he has a solo before the final act"

Nico glanced at the blond sitting beside him who was seemingly absorbed on the booklet "Will, I've already met your father but you never mentioned about your mother. Where is she?"

Nico noticed how Will briefly stiffened at the question. He was about to take it back and apologize for maybe taking it far. Yet Will smiled wistfully at him as he put down the booklet on his lap.

"She already died last year due to lung cancer"

"I'm sorry. It was just recently. . " Nico bit his lip. Nico reflexively craned his neck to the side. Why was he feeling a little bit suffocated all of a sudden and there's this painful pinch in his heart.

"No, it's fine" Will shook his head "Besides, an angel told me that mom is in paradise now"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind that" Will laughed and waved his hand dismissively. He looked ahead "I still miss my mom from time to time but I know she's happy now so I do my best to be happy too"

Hearing and seeing Will laughed made Nico feel better "Uh, did I already meet your mother before?"

Will hummed in confirmation

"Did she like me?"

"No"

Nico was taken aback "No?"

Will looked back at him grinning "No, she didn't like you because she _loved_ you"

Nico couldn't help to smile "Jeez. Solace. I thought she hated me or she's holding a grudge against me until the end"

"Nah, she couldn't do that. And I quote _'Oh you're such a darling. No wonder. I totally approved of Nico'_ end quote. That's what my mom said when she met you and take note that we're not even together that time"

Nico laughed then he sobered up when an idea hit him "That's right. I haven't yet ask you this, how did I ask you out or was it another way around?"

"After coming back from mom's house and after we departed, you came back to my apartment again. You told me that you're supposed to steal something from me but you'll just ask for it"

Nico frowned "What would I steal from you?"

Will's eyes gleam as he looked at Nico "Do you want me to show it to you?"

Nico's frown deepened "Do you have it?"

Instead of answering, Will leaned forward and tilted his head as he kissed Nico softly on the lips. Nico was stunned.

"Don't need to bring it" Will whispered against Nico's lips. He pulled away as the lights started to dim. He leaned back on the chair "Oh, it seems that it's going to start"

Nico blinked. He shook his head, pulling himself out of daze "I still don't understand why I would steal a kiss from you" He also leaned back on the chair "Also, I couldn't believe that I was such a sap"

Will laughed softly "That's one of your charms, being a sap"

"I refuse to believe that"

Will was biting his lip so he wouldn't laugh so loud. The performer came out the stage and started to play the piano. Instantly Will and Nico were moved by the wonderful music. The next musical performances were also great that the audience including Nico and Will were captivated by it. Apollo already made an appearance by then, and he was as flamboyant and dramatic as ever when he came out the stage. Will just shook his head in response as Nico looked at him amusedly.

Apollo was going to play the violin, together with the main performer on the piano. And when Apollo started to hit the notes, by all the gods in the universe, it felt like there's no other beautiful piece that could be compared to what he was performing at that moment. If Nico was going to be honest, Apollo already stole the spotlight from the main performer.

After their joined performance, there was big loud of applause and it was louder than before.

"Are you sure that this isn't Apollo's concert?" Nico whispered as he leaned closer to Will when the applause started to die down.

"I almost forgot how good my father is when it comes to music" Will muttered back "Before this, it's been a very long time when i watched my father played on stage"

"Damn Solace, good was an understatement for your father's performance"

"Don't let him hear that, it's going to stay in his head"

During their brief conversation, they didn't notice that the main performer left the stage to give way for Apollo's solo act and Apollo was now holding a microphone.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen" Apollo started to say in the microphone "I hope all of you are having a good time now. You know, I always believe and I think most of you will also agree that, music is an escape from a lot of things. People do music because they wanted to momentarily forget the present or the past. They do music because it's like a breathing hole for them, that hitting the notes or composing lyrics is a way to pour everything out when normal language seemed to fail them. Now, as much as music can be an escape, it is also a way to recollect the moments that has been very special to you, to make those long past memories fresh again as if it just happened yesterday. Or the reason that we play music is just to celebrate this very moment, the present time. We played for several reasons and so am I. I am going to play music because I wanted to escape, celebrate and recollect every moments. Right now, instead of doing the usual classical music, I wanted to do something new and this music goes for my son, Will"

Nico looked at Will who froze in his seat at the mention of his name. His blue eyes were wide in surprise. Apollo sat on the piano. He started to hit the keys with his expert fingers creating soft melodies. Nico tried to listen. The opening tune wasn't familiar to him unlike before. Then when the series of melodies started to resonate in the hall, Nico sucked in breath.

That's when the recognition of music started to hit him. Like Apollo said, it wasn't a classical one because it was a freaking pop music that everyone in this generation already heard of.

It was Inside out by the Chainsmokers.

But the thing that Nico didn't understand was why he was having this weird reaction after hearing the song. His heart started to pound in his chest as his eyes automatically shut.

Then somehow the music in the background started to fade. And Nico was like transported somewhere where there were two guys sitting on the floor. He couldn't figure who those people were when everything around him was so black and white and vague, like he was inside of a movie back in 1950's.

" _You will feel worst when you heard me sing. I swear"_

Nico froze when the other guy started to talk. The voice, he knew that voice all too well. It was a voice that Nico grew to be fond of. It was Will Solace' voice.

" _Please Will? I never heard you play or sing… I was curious.."_

And then the realization hit Nico like a speeding freight train that this was another jagged memory of his past with Will. The dreams and the few flashbacks stopped completely when Nico and Will got together. So he was astounded when another memory resurfaced.

" _I warned you. Seriously." Will said._

There was now something on Will's lap and it took a minute for Nico to realize that it was a guitar due to the vagueness of the scene laid in front of him

" _Just get on with it Will" Nico said_

Will started strumming.

 _Bend your chest open_

 _So I can reach your heart_

 _I need to get inside or I'll start a war_

 _Wanna look at the pieces that make you who you are_

 _I wanna build you up then pick you apart_

 _Let me see the dark sides as well as the bright_

 _I'm gonna love you inside out_

 _I'm gonna love you inside out_

 _I'm gonna love you…_

The music stopped. And Nico's eyes snapped open and he was jolted to the present when he felt Will's hand interlaced with him. Nico stiffly turned to Will who has worried expression written on his face. Apollo had finished his piece and was already gone in the stage. There's already a silence as the crowd waited for the next performance

"N-Nico, are you all right?" Will frowned at him as he tightened his grip to Nico's hand

"Y-you sang that song. . ." Nico stuttered. Waves of overwhelming nostalgia and bittersweet feelings washed over him that Nico was having a hard time to breath. He swallowed "You sang that to me. Inside Out"

Will's eyes widen "You remembered? Wait. Are your memories coming back?"

Nico shook his head in disappointment "Just that part, when you sang that song to me"

"I see" Will said and then he kissed Nico's knuckles that took Nico's breath away again "It's fine. And yes, I sang that song to you when we came to Mom's house"

The flashback left Nico suffocated again. His heartbeat calm down a little bit and so was his breathing but all of a sudden he couldn't handle anymore the darkness in the hall and the people around him.

"Let's not finish the show" Will suddenly said to him in a low voice. He tugged at Nico's hand "Let's go"

And so they found themselves at the café in the lobby of Broadway. They were sitting opposite to each other. Drinks were laid on the table. Will, being the bona fide doctor that he is, was checking Nico's pulse no matter how much Nico said that he was fine. So Nico's arm was extended over the table as Will put his index and middle fingers over Nico's pulse and looked at his wristwatch.

"Your pulse beat is faster than normal, are you sure that you're fine?" Will let go of Nico's wrist as Nico folded his arm on the edge of the table

"Sing that song to me and I'll feel better" Nico said

Will stared at Nico. Then the blond looked down as he smiled wistfully "You said that too before. You were kind of upset that's why you requested me to sing a song"

"Really?" Nico asked surprised "Why was I upset?"

Will froze in his seat, then he was looking everywhere aside from Nico's face "I-I actually forgot the reason, it was a long time ago"

Nico leaned forward "As far as I am concerned, I am the one who has amnesia here. You are a terrible liar, Solace. Don't think I haven't notice the way you avoid some of my questions, like how we met or the huge fight you unintentionally slipped off before. You never answered those"

Will briefly closed his eyes then looked up at Nico "Nico, you're a former death angel, that's how we met"

There's a beat of silence

Nico tilted his head "Solace, are you on drugs?"

Will started laughing, although it sounded awkward "That's a joke, isn't it funny?" Another awkward laugh "Well, you look like an angel. . ."

"Is that how you flirt now?"

Will leaned forward too "Isn't it working?"

Nico just flicked the tip of Will's nose. The blond scrunched up his nose.

"Excuse me, I'm going to the restroom" Nico said standing up

"Ah, sir" The waiter near them spoke "The café's toilet is under maintenance so you have to use the restroom in the lobby"

"Sure" Nico nodded as he started to walk away. He glanced back at Will when he reached the door. Will was looking down at the table seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

 _Death angel?_ Nico thought briefly as he exited the café and headed for the restroom.

Unknown to him, a man wearing a black cap was hiding behind the pillar nearby and watching Nico's retreating figure. A low growl escaped from him.

After using the toilet, Nico was washing his hands on the sink when the lights started to flicker. He was alone in the restroom. Nico ignored it as he pulled out a tissue paper from the dispenser and wiped his wet hands with it. Nico felt like the temperature in the room turned cold. He dropped the tissue paper in the trash bin and headed for the door. He pulled the door open. Yet the door wouldn't budge as if it was locked. Nico tried again but there was no use. The lights went off.

"What the hell?" Nico said out loud "Hey! Someone's here. I got locked out" He banged at the door, hoping someone would hear him from the outside.

All of a sudden, there's like a sudden force that pushed Nico and he was thrown on the nearby wall. He yelped and grunted as his back hit the wall

"What-" Then he gasped when he felt like someone was choking him.

"Who are-" Another gasp and cough from Nico as the grip around his neck tightened. Because it was dark, he couldn't see anything. He tried to grab whomever was choking him but he felt nothing. Yet the feeling of a hand strangling him in the neck was still there. There was also nothing around his neck when he touched it.

The lights briefly flickered on then it went off again. It just confirmed his suspicion that no one was around.

However, he was getting out of breath.

Lights flickered on again and he caught a glimpse of black smoke. Then lights off.

 _Die. . ._

It felt like a whisper of a sinister promise and a vengeance.

 _You should die. . ._

Beads of sweat were trickling down Nico's temple to his cheek. No matter how much Nico wanted to fight, he couldn't. When he didn't know whom to fight and what exactly is going on.

Nico was sure that he was about to lose consciousness due to the lack of oxygen. And he wondered for a moment if he's really going to die right there. He might be hallucinating because of his current state but he somewhat heard another loud bark. .

Then there's a hiss

 _Mrs. O'Leary?_ Nico absentmindedly thought as his eyes started to close

He heard another hiss, then all of a sudden the feeling of choking was gone. Nico gasped and coughed as he fell on his knees and hands. The air was starting to circulate freely in and out his body. The lights turned on. The temperature got back to normal. The door abruptly burst open but Nico couldn't afford to look when he felt frozen because of weakness.

"Nico!"

It wasn't Will's voice and when he got the energy to look up, it was Apollo Charleston.

Apollo cursed as he helped Nico to sit up. Nico leaned back on the wall.

"What happened?" Apollo crouched down beside him

"I don't know" Nico rasped out. Then he settled for a lie when he didn't know how to explain what just happened "Felt dizzy, that's all. . "

Apollo put a hand on Nico's forehead. Nico felt instantly warm.

Then Nico remembered Will waiting in the café "Shit. Will's going to worry that I'm taking too long here" He was about to stand up when Apollo pushed him back

"Sit still for a moment. Austin probably found Will by now so he would be occupied for a moment. " Apollo commanded and Nico obliged

"How did you get in?" Nico looked at Apollo who was wearing a pristine dark brown tux and suit "The door was locked"

"It's not" Apollo frowned at him, his hand still on the Nico's forehead

"But-" Nico paused. It's pointless to explain when everything was so absurd. He was still shaken up by whatever happened earlier. Yet, Nico pushed that at the back of his mind for the time being. He'll think about that later.

"Thankfully. I came here to use the restroom" Apollo pulled back his hand from his forehead "We were supposed to go to you when Will texted your location earlier but I let Austin to go ahead when I need to use the restroom. Are you all right now?"

Surprisingly, Nico felt better. He nodded "Yeah"

"Okay" Apollo said standing up "Let's get you up to your feet"

Apollo helped Nico to stand up

"Thanks" Nico said when he settled on his two feet.

"No problem son, let's go" Apollo clapped him on the shoulder

"Wait. I thought you're going to use the restroom?"

"Huh? I changed my mind. Let's just head back to Will and Austin"

"Can I ask a question?" Nico asked as they walked to the lobby and back to the café

"What is it?" Apollo looked inquiringly at him

"Why did you play Inside Out in the concert earlier?"

Apollo laughed "Will might not said it out loud but I think it his favorite song. He used to play that song often during winter last year. He never played any instrument when he got so busy being a doctor. So it was surprising to see him holding a guitar and singing that song all over again"

"Oh, I see. . ." Nico answered

"Yet, Will's tune was sad when he played that song before" Apollo said

* * *

oo00oo

For a change, the curtains on Nero Johansen's office were drawn to the side. He was standing by the window looking down. He's hands tucked in the pocket of his blood red pants that matched his coat.

Luke entered the office "Sir"

"Luke Castellan" Nero said still staring at the window "Are you really testing my patience?"

Luke looked scared for a second "N-no sir. Henry Stevens was properly taken care of and according to our sources in the NYPD, the detectives in New Jersey didn't obtain any information"

"Are you sure about that?" Nero asked

"Y-yes sir"

"Then why on earth Percy Jackson was around the building earlier? Was he just out for a walk and happened to pass by the Triumvirate building?"

Luke didn't respond bowing his head

"Twice you've failed on your task and I've forgiven you about it. Don't let it reach strike three or else, you _might_ be out in the game" Nero said softly looking at his reflection on the glass window

"See the consequences of your failures?" Nero added "Percy Jackson was still roaming around. ."

"He was supposed to be dead sir" Luke reasoned "It's a multiple gunshot wounds. I don't know how he survived"

"Maybe the gods are favoring him?" This time Nero turned around to look at Luke

Luke didn't answer again

"And Nico di Angelo, he was starting to be a sore in my eyes. He was still suspicious about the basement so take care of that too" Nero said

"One last chance Castellan, fix the failures you made and you're going to be rewarded. Failed to do so. . I don't know, you don't want to join the party in the basement, do you?"

* * *

 **Holy cows and birds. this is by far the longest chapter I've ever written. It's 8 pages long and 3,000 plus words. I usually limit my chapters to 2,000 words but there's no cutting it short here when everything is relevant.**

 **So, i want to dedicate this chapter to bmattny16. Hi! (Go follow this amazing person on wattpad, she's bmattny_16 there and read her PJO prompts including solangelo and many other pairings. it's smut tho, so if you're into it, go read it!) It's her idea to revisit the inside out song and i was like why not. this will give an opportunity for more portrayals of characters for the story to make more sense, like Percy Jackson popping out in the very first chapter of TCDL. *wiggle eyebrow suggestively* So now i already gave justice to him that he's not a props so the two main characters can meet and just to pump up the story.**

 **i also listened to a lot of Inside out covers while writing this. Heck, i have a lot of Inside out covers downloaded in my phone. lol. there are a lot of piano covers in youtube that you could listen to if you want while reading this and just pretend that it was Apollo playing. hahaha!**

 **As usual, reviews ladies and gentlemen. Advance thank you for that.**

 **Thank you for reading and continuous subscribing! You're all awesome. xxx**

 **Nikki.**


	49. XLVII - NICO

**XLVII**

 **NICO**

Nico stopped at the balcony as he looked down at the entrance towards the underground basement of Triumvirate Laboratories. There were more guards roaming than usual and the security seemed to tighten more. He didn't know why but he became so drawn into this place ever since he stumbled there accidentally two weeks ago. The place was like magnet always pulling him in. Was it just really his mere curiosity to know what was behind those steel doors or there was more to it?

Then he froze. There. Nico tried his best not to get paranoid. He didn't want to think that this past week, after the incident in the restroom at the Broadway, it felt like someone was following him and watching him from afar. Worst, he didn't want to think that there's someone out there who wanted him dead. He's senses seemed to sharpen and he's always on edge. He's constantly looking behind his back expecting someone to lunge at him and kill him on the spot.

Like as of the moment, somewhere behind him, he felt like someone was burning a whole behind his head with a stare.

Nico tried to ignore that feeling and continued walking. His day at work was already finished and he will go to Queens to visit his sister Hazel. In no time, he was out of the building and making his way along the bustling street.

Nico still didn't understand what exactly happened at the Broadway. Nor he wasn't sure if he still wanted to know. He was seriously considering dropping by over Mr. D's clinic and ask if he's brain was starting to give up on him because he was maybe starting to hallucinate things and he's starting to hear strange voices and of course the paranoia.

And speaking of paranoia, there was it again, the feeling of being watched. Nico walked faster as he reached the subway station and went in. He walked calmly as he could, even though his heart started to thump louder, his shoulder tensing and sweat started to trickle down his forehead. Strangely too, he started to feel cold. His tensing doubled because the cold was familiar.

The sensation was worse than before.

Nico stopped at the vending machine. He paused at the array of drinks, contemplating to purchase a drink.

Nico looked away. He changed his mind. He went to the platform instead. He's at the safe edge of the platform waiting for the train to come. He clenched the strap of his backpack. He was looking down at the rails.

The train had come, approaching the platform. It was ten meters away when Nico looked at the incoming train.

9 meters away. . .

8\. . .

Nico felt something on his back. His eyes widen.

6\. . .

5\. . .

For some unknown reason, Nico yelped in surprise as he stumbled forward from the platform. There were shouts of surprise from the other passengers. Nico fell and landed on the rail track, hitting his head in the process on the metal bar. Despite the pain on his head, he stared wide eyed at the blinding head lights of the incoming train. The noise of the train was deafening

4\. . .

There's a commotion and a series of shouts.

 _No. I can't die like this. Please. Help. Please make me disappear from here._

Faces of people he loved swam on Nico's head. Hazel, Reyna, Will. _Will._

Nico closed his eyes.

The train passed by and then halted at the platform.

Nico's eyes snapped open. _What-_

He turned his head at the side. The train was still there. And that's when he realized that he was lying on the other side of the rail track.

 _How?_ Then he heard again a familiar bark from a dog. Then Nico passed out

* * *

Nico felt it before he opened his eyes. There was a hand on his forehead. He seemed to recognize it. He was really hoping that it was someone he thought it would be when he opened his eyes. He sighed in relief when it was the mop of blond hair and blue eyes he loved the most that swam in his view.

"It's official. You are going to be the death of me" Will Solace greeted him in his usual scrubs and lab coat as he pulled away his hand from Nico's forehead.

Nico briefly swept his eyes around him and immediately learned that he was in the hospital, again, hooked in an IV and dressed in hospital long sleeves and pants.

"Are you somehow making a habit of giving me a heart attack every few other week by being wheeled on a stretcher unconscious?" Will asked again

"Will. . ." Nico tried to sit up

"Easy" Will helped him sit up

Nico touched his forehead when he felt something there. There was a mini rectangular gauze pad on his forehead.

"Three stitches" Will informed him "Thankfully, that's all you've got and no internal bleeding and no broken bones. Does your head hurt?"

"Not really" Nico answered and he looked up at Will "Look Will, something happened-"

"Hold that thought" Will raised his index finger. Nico frowned.

"You don't feel dizzy at all, do you?" Will asked

Nico shook his head.

"Good. Wear a jacket" Will said as he walked to the corner of the room near the door. That's when Nico saw that there's a wheel chair there.

"Let's watch the sunrise. ." Will smiled at him pushing the wheelchair towards him

"Where exactly are we going to watch the sunrise?" Nico asked. He was sitting on the wheelchair. Will was behind him pushing it.

"You'll know soon" Will answered mysteriously

"Wait. Hazel?" Nico twisted his body a little bit to look up at Will "Does Hazel know? I was supposed to go to Queens"

"Of course, she knew and Reyna too. They'll be here later when the visiting hours strike"

"This is insane. . ." Nico muttered leaning back on the wheelchair "It's tiring to be back here on a regular basis"

"For me too" Will answered "Don't get me wrong, I love taking care of you but let's not make it a habit to be my patient that often"

They stopped in front of an elevator and Will pushed the button

"I just told you to stop coming back here looking half-dead. I see, stubborn as always. Never change" Will snorted

"Hey! It's not like I wanted to be in this kind of situation. . ." Nico muttered

Will only hummed in response as the door dinged open. They went in. Will pushed the button for the uppermost floor. Nico looked inquiringly at him but Will just shrugged. When they reached the floor, they went on a series of ramps going up. They stopped at the door and Will opened it. A gust of wind greeted them. It was still a little bit dark outside. It dawned on Nico that they were on the helipad. Will wheeled Nico to the center of it.

The sun was starting to peak from the horizon. Its ray of lights was starting to reach every corner of the darkened sky. The sky was in the hue of combined purple, red and orange creating a spectacular view. The buildings were still glittering with lights and were standing proud and tall. The beauty of the horizon took Nico's breath away.

"It's good to be back here" Will was beside him, hands on his lab coat's pockets "I refused to come up here since fall last year when this place strongly reminds me of you"

Nico stood up from the wheelchair. Although, he couldn't go any further when the back of his hand was still hooked to the IV hanging on the pole of the wheelchair.

"I know this. . ." Nico looked at Will and the blond gazed back "I always dream of this place before. Now, I just realized that the person in my dreams who was always standing at the edge was you"

Will smiled lovingly at him. He reached for Nico's hand "Sit"

Nico obliged. Will crouched on his one knee in front of Nico.

"Shit, you're not going to propose on me, are you?" Nico asked

Will threw his head back, a loud bark of laughter escaped him. When he sobered up, he spoke "I love to do that sunshine, but not at this instant. Because I believe that there are a few things we needed to settle first"

Nico 's heart swell at the thought that Will wanted to spend his lifetime with him.

"So, instead of a ring, let's go with this first" Will produce something out of the pocket of his lab coat. It was a bracelet made of braided cords of gold and black.

"That's-" Nico recognized the bracelet because he had seen it first hand when it was just being hand-made by Hazel.

"Yeah, from Hazel's exhibit. I fought tooth and nail against other bidders just to get this. No kidding about Hazel and her jewelleries" Will clasped the bracelet around Nico's wrist.

"Hazel once told me that she believes that jewelleries have stories, either before they were made or after it was finished and purchased by someone" Will continued eyeing the bracelet "The first time I laid my eyes on this, I instantly knew that this bracelet tells our story. Two different cords entangled together. I believe we were like that too. Two people from different universe whose lives got intertwined"

Will looked up at Nico. Nico gasped as Will started to be surrounded by light. Will was literally glowing.

"W-what?" Nico's mouth was hanging open

"As expected, you could see me glowing now, after your powers emerged again" Will said still glowing "I got a report that you fell on the right side rail track in the subway station but when the paramedics rescued you, you were already on the left side unconscious. It was impossible but most witnesses just believed that you were able to get out and went on the other side on the last minute, well, because they didn't know how else to explain it. The security cameras at the platform seemed to conveniently choose to be down at that moment, so nothing could verify what actually happened. However, I knew better. You shadow travelled on the other side, Nico"

"Hang on a sec" Nico raised his hand, signal for a time out "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"I wasn't kidding when I told you that you were a former death angel when we were at the Broadway"

"I've wanted to tell you all about this ever since your allergy accident. I was glowing the entire time we were talking, hoping that you would see it, so it would be easier for me to explain further to you. Unfortunately, you weren't able to see the glow" Will continued "This is how we met five years ago in this hospital. Me, glowing while trying to heal a patient and you, as a death angel escorting a soul of a patient towards the underworld"

Nico was staring at Will's glow "But I saw it, the glow, when I was rushed here because of allergy. I thought I was just hallucinating but it felt like I saw you glowing. Why I couldn't see it then when I woke up"

Will shook his head "I don't know, maybe it was your subconscious acting up because it was in your nature? But last night, your fellow death angel, Bob came to me saying that you shadow travelled back in the subway station and your powers are back. It seemed like you'd be able to only see my glow when your powers returned. He also said that there's a reason why you're skills and powers were taken for the time being, something about a plan and safety. To be honest, I felt like someone out there was stopping me from telling you the truth earlier than this"

Nico closed his eyes. His head started to throb from all the information he was getting. Hearing it was absurd but at the same time . . . it felt right.

"I'm sorry" Will squeezed Nico's hand "I know this was too much for you"

Nico opened his eyes to look at Will. Seeing him glow made him feel calmer and better. It was beautiful. Will was beautiful.

"I-if I was truly a former death angel like you said" Nico swallowed "Why was I here? What happened? Why can't I remember everything from my past?"

Will suddenly looked pained "I'm so sorry Nico. But your amnesia was actually your punishment. . ."

"Punishment?"

"Punishment for breaking the rules of the underworld, one of those is for _loving_ me, death angels were forbidden to feel human emotion but you fell in love with me. Then you killed Python when you weren't supposed to do that. Yet, you did just to save me."

"S-so, if it was a punishment, there's a high chance that my memories would not come back?"

Will bowed his head, already answering Nico's question

"Hey" Nico held Will's head with both hands and tilted it. Blue orbs met dark brown. "Solace, if I would be given a chance to go back in _that_ time and change things, I wouldn't hesitate to do _again_ whatever I did before if it means loving you all over again"

Then Nico leaned forward and reached for Will's lips. This time, it was slow and sweet. Savouring every moments, that he was here again with the man he loved for what felt like eternity. For whatever it is that brought them together again, he was grateful, for there was no other man he could ever love other than Will Solace. It will always felt like fireworks and butterflies with him.

Nico pulled away and stared at Will' twinkling blue eyes. Looking at Will's eyes felt like Nico was always gazing at cloudless sky in summer " _I love you"_

Will's eyes widen.

"Why are you so surprise? Okay, I take that maybe in the past I wasn't very vocal about my feelings. . "

"This was actually the first time you told me that you love me out loud. . ."

This time, it was Nico's turn to be surprised "W-why? Gods, okay, maybe I was really a jerk in the past-"

"Say it again"

"What?"

"That you love me, please?"

Nico cupped Will's face closer to him "I love you, I love you, I love you I love you. . ." Nico continued saying it like a mantra until he was out of breath and they were both laughing.

"I love you" This time, it was Will. His glow had faded but for Nico, Will Solace will be always blindingly bright and ethereal.

"Ack, I'm starting to get cramps from this position" Will suddenly added as he changed his position from kneeling on one knee to plopping down on the floor to sit beside Nico's wheelchair.

He started to stretched his legs as he spoke again "So, the death angel's business is out of the list to talk about, we proceed to the next"

"How many exactly are the topics on this list we need to talk about?"

Will laughed "Just this one and we'll head back. A patient can't stay out long. I just really wanted to go here with you because I miss this place"

"Were we here often before?"

Will hummed in response "So, I believe something happened at the subway station"

Nico's expression darkened a bit "Now, you started to tell me things like this. The thing that I'm going to say isn't going to sound more unreal than before. I think a black smoke was trying to kill me"

"What?"

Nico started to recount the story of what happened yesterday as the flashback swam back in his head.

 _Nico stopped at the vending machine. He paused at the array of drinks, contemplating to purchase a drink._

 _That's when he saw at the glass the reflection of black smoke right behind him. That black smoke was familiar, because there's also a black smoke when he was choking to death in the restroom at the Broadway._

 _Nico looked away. He changed his mind. He went to the platform instead. He's at the safe edge of the platform waiting for the train to come. He clenched the strap of his backpack. He was looking down at the rails._

 _He could feel it, it was right behind him, the black smoke. He felt cold, especially at his back. It was the same cold he felt at the Broadway._

Nico was sure that _it_ was the one who pushed him on the rail tracks. He also told Will what happened to him at the Broadway. After Nico finished narrating the story, Will was worried.

"What are we going to do? What if –whatever that is, attack you again?"

Nico reached Will's hand "I won't let him kill me. Besides, I can just shadow travel if it attack me again, although I have to practice on that part because I still don't know how exactly the whole shadow travel thing works"

"Then what if, the shadow travel, didn't work-"

"I won't die, Solace. Promise"

"I was just afraid that you'll leave me again and this time it would be for good"

"This time, I promise that I won't" Nico said "Even though, I still don't understand what's the motive of killing me. Wait, you said, there's this Bob who was a death angel who talked to you. Where is he? Maybe I can talk to him and ask him about this black smoke, maybe he knows"

Will shook his head dejectedly "Bob is hard to find. I just met him for the first time, last night"

"Then maybe I can ask other death angels out there"

Their conversation got interrupted when Will's phone rang. Lou had called him and asked where the hell they are. She also advised them to come back immediately if Will didn't want to get a memo of abducting a patient.

So they went down the helipad with questions still lingering in the air, and as the sun rose in the horizon behind their backs. When they reached Nico's room, Will needed to leave because he had a surgery to attend to. The blond doctor promised to come back later after his shift.

So Nico was left alone in his room, contemplating all the things that he and Will talked about. To be honest, it wasn't yet sinking in to Nico that he was a freaking death angel before. He couldn't still believe that he was escorting souls in the underworld all his life before. Will briefly explained that all he knew about his mortal life wasn't true and this thing called mist just altered everything to fit his living here in the upper world. If that was the case, is Hazel not his real sister after all? And Bianca, where is she? He didn't remember her dying although Hazel said that she did because of poor health. Maybe it wasn't true, so where was she? Will also promised to fill Nico in with more things that Will knew about his death angel life later.

Nico sighed as he sank deeper on the bed. Just thinking about it again made him dizzy. Not to mention there's still this whole black smoke mystery going. He was also a bit baffled about something that Will mentioned before, _something about a plan._ Just what was that all about? Nico badly wanted the answers to the unending list of questions in his weird life.

He was in the middle of thinking about trying to find death angels around to ask, when Hazel and Reyna came. They were extremely worried of course, when this wasn't the first time that Nico got in a dangerous situation. He just reassured them that he was completely fine. They demanded what happened and Nico settled for a lie that he _accidentally_ fell on the rail track. He couldn't tell them the truth when he, himself was still confused about everything. And Nico didn't want to risk that they might think that he's going insane. They might call Mr. D and get a heavy prescription.

Hazel left the room for a bit to settle Nico's hospital bill since he was going to be discharge in the afternoon. Therefore, it was Reyna and Nico in the room.

"You're lying about what truly happened in the subway station. Spill" Reyna suddenly said. She was sitting on the chair beside Nico's bed.

Nico froze. Right. He forgot that he has a friend who's excellent at detecting lies.

"I was telling the truth. What else could happen" Nico was defiant staring straight at Reyna's eyes

"Lie" Reyna was staring back

"So, what's happening about my hit and run case, is there any progress?" Nico tried the diversionary tactic

This time, it was Reyna who froze.

"How was your work at Triumvirate Lab? Are your colleagues treating you well?"

Silence. Nico and Reyna stared at each other. They both knew it, both changing the topics to stop the impending more lies that will come out their mouths, because they hate it, hate lying more to each other.

"If I told you what truly happened at the subway station, will you tell me what's going on with my case?" Nico challenged

"Nico. . ."

"See, Reyna. Now I hope you understand more why I am doing this. There are certain things that we cannot tell for the sake of others. I trust you so I won't ask so please trust me too on this"

Reyna sighed "Fine, di Angelo. You got me on this. I won't pry for more but Nico don't hesitate to ask me for help if you needed it, okay? I'll take care the accident in the subway station so you don't have to worry about it"

Nico nodded, smiling gratefully at his friend "Thank you"

Friend for a long time or just friend for more than nine months, it doesn't matter because he knew that Reyna Ramirez-Arellano could be trusted with his life if needed.

If there's one thing that Nico realized that morning, the world was truly twisted in its own way.

* * *

 **ON THIS POINT ONWARDS BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE NEXT UPDATES. HAHAHAHA**

 **the braided cord bracelet was actually inspired by kimi no na wa anime. if you havent watch that you're missing something great hahaha**

 **Anyway, please review! i love hearing your feedbacks and thoughts about the story**

 **Thank you for reading and subscribing on the story!**

 **Stay tuned!**


	50. XLVIII - WILL

**XLVIII**

 **WILL**

"All right, thank you" Will said to the family of patient he just operated a while ago. Thankfully the operation was successful. The family left. He pulled out the scrub cap on his head and started to walk away

"Hey doc!"

Will paused to look at the direction of the voice. Kayla, Cecil and Lou were jogging towards him.

"Is there something wrong?" Will asked

"Not really" Lou replied "How was lover boy?"

"Lover boy?" Will frowned

"Di Angelo, you duffus!" Lou said

Will snorted at the nickname. He's imagining Nico's scowl if he heard that nickname for him "He's fine. In fact, he wanted to get discharge as soon as possible"

"Yeah, good. But we're not really here to talk about lover boy" Lou continued "There's something we've been thinking about and we wanted to tell it to you"

"And that is?" Will raised an eyebrow

"Hey guys, probably not the best place to talk about _that_ " Cecil butted in

"Let's go somewhere secluded first" Kayla said and walked away first

Will was still perplexed but he followed the three. They ended up in an empty hospital room.

"Spill it Lou" Kayla said as she locked the door

"Okay" Lou started as she sat on the edge of the bed. Cecil sat beside her. Kayla pulled out a chair to sit on and Will remained standing crossing his arms.

"We were thinking about the coma patients without clear medical reasons" Lou continued and stared at Will "Will what if, there's a reason why we couldn't find any medical explanations about why they ended up like that"

"And the reason is?" Will asked. There were now eleven patients in bizarre coma state. There were additional patients from suffocation from a fire last time. Then, there were also patients who got transferred in Jupiter Half-blood Hospital. When their families heard about the similar case, they were transferred there hoping that they would be cured at JHH. All additional patients reacted similarly to Will's glow. Cold when he touched them.

"What if we couldn't find ways because it's not purely about medical but. . . you know maybe magical. . "

"What?" Will's eyebrow shot up

"It still sounds weird and _so_ unreal" Kayla commented

"But hey, just suggesting" Lou defended "After learning that Will has a boyfriend who's a former death angel and there are death angels around and the fact that people around here could conveniently forgot someone else existence, what else could be weirder, right? It's been a week going two and we still don't have answers. We still don't know how to cure them"

Silence loomed over

"You are seriously considering about it, are you?" Kayla looked at Will

Will sighed running his fingers through his blond hair "I don't know yet. It's hard to tell when you don't have proof. Despite the fact that I have a former death angel boyfriend, I'm still a doctor whose expertise mostly lies on the scientific and medical explanations. No offense Lou"

"None taken" Lou answered "As I've said, I was just suggesting"

After that, they departed to go to their respective work. Will and Cecil were left alone together as they walked through the hallway

"You were strangely quiet about our conversation earlier" Will noted

"What else could I contribute" Cecil sighed "My world usual revolved around hematology, parasitology, pathology and other scientific words with - _ology._ Magic and ava kadavra aren't one of them"

"Right" Will turned his head to look ahead then paused "Oh. . ." Not from afar, Nico di Angelo was standing in front of a window of a room. He's staring at something inside. He was still in hospital sleeves but he's already free from the IV line. As evidence, a cotton ball was taped on the back of his hand.

"Is that lover boy?" Cecil asked

Will snorted "Don't let him hear you calling him that"

They approached Nico.

"Hey" Will greeted him when they reached him. Nico's head turned to him, a little bit surprised "What are you doing here?"

"I was just. . ." Nico paused when he saw Will had company

"What?" Will asked

Nico just gave him a look

Will looked around, the cost was clear "Oh, if you're going to talk about death angels stuff-" Nico's eyes widen at that "-that's fine because Cecil here knew everything about death angels and who you really are"

Cecil just saluted at Nico with a grin.

"Who else knew this?"

"Kayla and Lou too, only the three of them. I had no choice but to tell them. They still remembered you when the people around here forgot about you" Will answered

Nico frowned in confusion

"I'll tell you about that later but why are you here? Is Hazel and Reyna not here yet?" Will also looked at the window. Inside the room, an unconscious man was lying on the bed. Will recognized immediately the patient. The man was one of the eleven bizarre coma patients.

"They already came. Hazel was still settling the hospital bill while Reyna had to leave to go to NYPD" Nico looked back at window "I was bored so I decided to look for death angels around but found none yet. Then I passed by here and noticed something off about him"

"Something off?" Will frowned

"I don't know how, but if I was just going to look closely and concentrate enough, I could see inside him and it was empty"

"Empty how?" This time, it was Cecil who spoke.

"His soul was missing" Nico answered "It's like the human body is a big shell that host a life force. And his life force is gone that's why he wouldn't wake up. Life force is the one that keeps a human anchored to the living but now that it was gone, he won't wake up. Unless his soul came back to his body. Shit. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was saying, it's just coming off my mouth and I couldn't control it"

Will and Cecil looked at each other

"I'm gonna give Lou a kiss" Cecil said to him

Nico was clutching his head

"Hey sunshine" Will held Nico's shoulder and turned his body to him "Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah, just a little bit dizzy, that's all" Nico winced

"Let's get you back to your room, okay?" Will just nodded at Cecil and stirred Nico away

"Are there more patients like that man?" Nico said as he settled lying on his bed

"Eleven of them" Will answered sitting at the edge of Nico's bed

"They won't wake up until the soul came back to them" Nico grumbled playing the frayed hem of the blanket

"Do you know how the souls will go back to their bodies?" Will asked

"I don't know. . ." Nico continued to grumble

"That's all right, you don't have to know everything. Do you still feel dizzy?"

"Yeah, sort of. . ."

"Just rest. Or else I might revoke your discharge paper if you still feel dizzy until later"

"No, you won't" Nico scowled

"Oh yes I will. So rest up, sunshine" Will started to glow

"Beautiful. . ." Nico grumbled again as his eyes started to close

When Nico fell asleep, Hazel came in. Will stood up from the bed, glow faded.

"Oh, hi doc. How's my brother?" Hazel asked closing the door behind him

"He's good. Just fell asleep" Will said

"I'm worried about him. He's been through a lot. . ." Hazel frowned at Nico as she crossed her arms on her chest

Will patted Hazel's shoulder comfortingly "Nico is a strong person, you don't have to be that worried"

Hazel smiled at him "But he's still my baby brother no matter how strong he can be"

"He's older than you"

"So?" Hazel raised an eyebrow

"Right" Will laughed and Hazel joined him.

"I'll go ahead, I'll just come back again later" Will said when he sobered up and walked towards the door

"Yeah. Thank you Will" Hazel smiled at him

Will just nodded and opened the door

"And Will. . ."

Will turned to Hazel

"Thank you for being there for Nico"

Will smiled "Can't help it, your brother is a magnet"

Hazel laughed at that "Can't resist his charm eh?"

"Something like that"

They laughed again as Will stepped out the room.

Will was in the locker room arranging his things in his bag when he's phone rang that was resting on his opened locker. He paused as he gazed at it. An unknown number was calling and it was an international number.

"Who could it be?" Will muttered as he got his phone and swiped the screen with his thumb to answer it. He held the phone against his ear

"Hello?"

"Hi. Will Solace"

Will was taken aback. It's been a long time since he heard that voice.

"B-Bianca?"

Yes, it's Nico's sister, Bianca di Angelo who was calling.

"Oh, good you recognized my voice. Should I be flattered?"

"Gods, I really missed your sarcasm and snarky comments. Seriously"

Bianca snorted that might be as well close to laughing.

"Wait. How did you know my number? And where are you?" Will sat on a nearby chair hugging his backpack.

"I have my ways and still in Russia" Bianca replied "Anyway, I wasn't calling just to have a friendly chat with you. My time is limited and this is important. How's my brother?"

"Bianca. . " Will exhaled "A lot of things are happening here with your brother and I don't think all of that can be covered in this phone call if you're like in a hurry"

"Make it short then. Does my brother already know who he is? Or maybe remember, if there's a miracle"

Will looked around the room first. When he was sure that he was alone, he spoke "He already knows who he is, but his memory didn't return completely. His powers came back though"

"Powers?" Bianca's voice seemed surprise "Explain"

Will tried to explain everything that happened to Nico as briefly as possible, starting from the incident at Broadway until what happened now.

"Damn it" Bianca hissed "Everyone is on the move. I see. You said, Bob came to you, did he tell you anything else aside from Nico's powers coming back?"

"Nothing else but he mentioned something about plan and safety? Bianca, I'm worried about Nico, what if, something or someone out there was really dead set on killing him. We don't even know why this is happening to him"

"I know why" Bianca said

"And you'll tell me about it?"

"Of course, you have to know. This also involves you Will Solace. This is the reason why I'm calling you"

"M-me? How come?"

"Will Solace, remember what happened back in October 20th last year" Bianca began "You were destined to die that day and Bob was already there to escort your soul to the underworld. . ."

"Okay. . . ?" Will let out a shaky breath. He didn't like that their conversation is going somehow on his supposed death.

"But because Nico came to rescue you . . . ." Bianca continued "He changed the course of death. So instead, someone had to pay the price of your supposed death"

Will exhaled "Python"

"Yes. Bob was assigned to your soul and he couldn't just take away a soul that wasn't assigned to him. So there's a moment of confusion of who's going to get who's soul. Now, the moment that no death angel was out there escorting a soul in a designated time, do you know what will happen?"

"It will wander around and be a ghost" Will answered. He remembered it, Nico had told him about that when he was still a death angel.

"Exactly. And do you still remember the missing souls that I told you about before?"

"Yes"

"Python is one of them" Bianca said "That information was so classified among death angels that I have to track down the death angel who was supposed to escort Python's soul just to confirm it all the way here in Russia"

"Now, a ghost who's on the loose and who's a murderer when he was still alive is something dangerous" The death angel continued "Ghost like that will mostly seek vengeance for his death"

Will was glad that he was sitting down or else he might collapse on the floor "S-so the one, the black smoke that Nico was telling about was probably Python?"

"It's not _probably_ Will, because I'm sure as hell that it was Python. Nico killed him after all"

"If we don't stop him, Nico was in real danger. What are we going to do with Python?"

" _Well,_ find him and make sure he goes back in the underworld"

"M-me? Why me? Isn't that a death angel's job?"

"Our job was only to escort soul not to summon them"

"Summon them?"

"William Solace, do you really have no idea how exactly your light powers worked?"

"L-light powers" Will echoed dumbly

"The reason why, you were able to bring back someone from the pit of death is because the dead, the souls are _attracted_ to your glow and because they are attracted to your glow, they will pretty much follow your light, hence summon them. Moreover, you have the power over the souls to command them at your will. Your glow is like their pathway back to life _especially_ for those souls who aren't ready to accept death yet. Why do you think you're able to save some but not the others. Your light is more powerful for those who are still yearning for life. Heck, we death angels, are also attracted to your glow, what do you think happened to Nico? Most of us, just react differently because we don't want to accept _that_ fact. We hate it"

"S-so, how could I summon Python? Do I just glow and he'll come?"

"That depends" Bianca answered "It might be difficult if ghost Python was hosting or possessing a human body. You must be in close proximity of that body so it will work. A human body can be a shield against forces that will rat them out. Ghosts, who do not want to go to underworld, use that trick so the death angels tracking them wouldn't find them easily, if Python knew or learned it, he'll probably do it so he could do revenge on Nico."

"What now? Hosting a human body? Possession?" Will groaned. Give him the most complex heart surgery and he'll probably understand and do the procedure in no time, but not that this one, dealing with ghost and the dead

"Python will be probably hard to find" Bianca said ignoring Will "I'll come there as soon as I can to help on tracking him down. For the mean time, keep Nico safe. And. . ."Bianca's voice seemed to hesitate ". . . Just don't tell Nico that I called you. I want him to concentrate on himself right now to recover his powers completely for his safety and for whatever Hades is planning for him. Don't call this number. I just stole this phone" Bianca hung up

Will's mind was probably on the way to the afterlife.

* * *

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	51. XLIX - NICO

**XLIX**

 **NICO**

 _I want to go there._

Nico narrowed his eyes on the corner of his bedroom. Then he could feel the shadows engulfing him. He took a deep breath. He vanished but when the shadows vomited him out, he crashed on the wall and hit his head on it.

"Damn it" Nico cursed sliding down to the floor clutching the side of his head. But he didn't stop there he stared hard at his bed. Darkness. Then shadows formed at the ceiling like cloud over the bed and Nico emerged from the shadows flailing his hands in the air and fell to the bed. He was grateful that he chose the bed as his destination.

Then again, he made a mistake of looking on his dresser on the other side of his room.

"No, no, no. . ." Shadow like smoke started to engulf him again.

When he materialized, his butt hit the edge of the dresser, his hands that were trying to find anything to hold unto, unintentionally swept off the things on the dresser making them fall to the ground and created a loud crash.

Nico cursed out loud. Since he was still learning the shadow travel, there were times that he couldn't control it. He ended up sitting on the floor with his back against the chest of drawers attached to the dresser. He looked at the things that fell on the floor. Thankfully, they're just assortment of plastic bottles. A wood box toppled over, its contents spilling on the floor. A magazine also fell on the floor.

Nico sighed. He needed to work hard so he could already learn completely the works of shadow travel especially now that a rouge ghost who's seeking vengeance on him was on the move. Will had told him about it the other day just before he got discharged in the hospital. He didn't remember killing this Python dude but hell, Python seemed to remember clearly to get back to him. Nico was grateful for the death angel who told Will. At least, some of his questions were starting to have an answer. He wanted to thank this death angel but Will never mentioned the name and reasoned that that certain death angel was hard to find. Nico was a little bit suspicious at that, Will was a terrible liar after all. But he chose not to pry more to it.

He sighed again as he reached for the magazine that fell on the floor. It was the magazine that Will was featured. It's like a habit for him now to look at the picture of Will in that magazine, which his sister Hazel pointed out as creepy and stalkerish. But what can he do, a man in love could do all sort of weird things for that special someone, although he'll never ever say that out loud, even in death and even his soul started to journey to afterlife.

He opened the magazine and turned to the page of Will's picture and interview. Nico almost memorized all the contents of the interview from the often reading of it. Then he stared at the picture of Will.

Nico couldn't help but to snort and smile "Gods, aren't you lucky at that guy, Nico di Angelo? Huh?"

Nico clamped his mouth shut. Yep, this is getting creepy. He just absentmindedly turned to the next page just to stop his madness. Nico froze as he stared at the picture next page.

It was a picture of three feet long ivory staff with a purple globe sized of a baseball attached to the top of it. The picture was labelled as the Scepter of Deocletian. Nico read the short article about it. It was a joint excavation project of Triumvirate Laboratories and Valdez Biotech Corp to retrieve the Scepter of Deocletian in the ruins of Croatia, Italy that started in spring last year. The project was successfully completed summer the same year. There was a debate on whether the relic should be turned over to the national government or to the private company that retrieved it. The article said that for the temporary time until the issue was resolve, Valdez Biotech Corp would be given the rights over the relic.

Nico _never_ turned the page of the magazine after Will's interview because he didn't care whatsoever in the next pages. So this was his _first_ time seeing the scepter.

 _Except that it was not._

Suddenly, Nico gasped for air as he clutched his chest dropping the magazine. His eyes shut closed as flashbacks after flashbacks came flooding on him like a water broke in a dam.

Death angel Nico was standing in front of a seemingly like a throne. It was the throne of Hades in the underworld as the God of the Underworld sentenced him to a punishment of forgetting someone he loved the most. His old self looked at Bianca who was crying and shouting. He smiled bravely at her, because loving someone so sincerely and faithfully was one of the biggest accomplishments a man could ever do in his life and the sacrifice he would do for it was worth it.

The scene shifted as Nico vanished and he materialized on a darkened street. It was the 113th street in Manhattan, New York. Nico looked around confused. His eyes widen when he realized that he was back to the mortal world.

" _This_ is . . . _what I_. . ?" Nico faltered. His heart was drumming on his rib cage "What am I doing here?"

His gaze stopped at the corner. Three people were standing there. They were Henry Stevens, Luke Castellan and Nero Johansen. Nero Johansen's arm was raised towards the sky while holding the Scepter of Deocletian. Shadows were curling around him. There were no other people around but he could hear _voices,_ like human voices screaming, as another wave of white smoke sucked in by the sceptre. The temperature around dropped, colder than the usual temperature of fall. It felt like winter without snow.

The screaming voices continued and somehow, Nico recognized all the waves of white smoke being sucked. He felt it, the throbbing essence of the white smoke.

"Hey!" Nico couldn't help but to shout. All three turned to his direction. For a moment they were frozen in shock to see another presence there.

"What are you doing to those souls?" Nico asked. Those waves of white smoke are souls of human being. He was horrified at the thought that those people were corrupting those souls. It was evil and unfair. If a human died, all souls needed to go to afterlife for a fair judgement.

He hadn't noticed that Luke Castellan climbed into to the car. The engine turned on and so were the headlights. It blinded Nico for a moment, before he knew it, the car roared and zoomed towards him.

Nico screamed.

The flashback ended. Nico's eyes snapped open. He was back in the present, in his own room, beads of sweat covering his forehead. He doubled over to the floor and dry retched, his heart thundering on his rib cage. He heaved as he clenched his hands. He tried to close his eyes again to calm himself. He counted ten backwards, like Mr. D had told him before.

His heartbeat and breathing started to get even. Nico opened his eyes. He found himself lying on the floor, his cheek pressed against it. He sat up shakily. He wiped his forehead that glistened with sweat with the back of his hand. He stood up. He saw his reflection on the mirror of his dresser. His eyes were obsidian black. Black smoke was starting to curl around him. He could feel a roar of great energy in his veins. His body felt like nuclear ready to combust any moment.

This was Nico di Angelo, shadow and death are his friends. It was nice to reunite with them.

Nico turned his head to the wall across his room. He started to walk towards that wall. Then he started to jog and he jumped to the wall. He should have crashed on it but he didn't, when the wall melted into a puddle of shadows. Nico went in to it with a certain destination in mind. _Queens, New York._

Nico stepped out from another wall that melted into shadows. Nico looked at his both sides. He was in an alley. He made his way through the alley. Nico paused when he saw his reflection again on a broken window. His eyes turned back to the color of dark brown. No shadows are engulfing him. He continued his way and went for the exit.

He emerged on a street where people were busy doing their own business and people hurrying to get on their destinations on time. He turned to a corner and headed to Valdez Biotech Corp building.

He reached the front of the said building. Several people were coming in and out of it in dress shirts and coats. Nico looked down at himself. He was wearing a gray t-shirt over a black sleeveless hoodie, black skinny jeans and black flip-flops. He sighed. He was in haste to get there that he didn't think to dress smart and appropriate for the place. And how could he when he's mulling over other important things than attires. He was contemplating going back to his apartment to change; because he was sure that the securities would have second thoughts on letting him in, when a woman approached him. She has a golden brown hair tied in a complicated low bun and strands of hair falling down on the side of her face. She was wearing a white collared wrap dress, with sleeves reaching her elbow and a bow tied on the left side of her waist. She has dark almond-shaped eyes and pouty lips. Her skin was milky pale. She walked with grace and her face held confidence and beauty.

"Nico di Angelo, is it?" The woman said stopping in front of him

"Uhm, do I know you?" Nico raised an eyebrow

The woman laughed softly "No but I am Calypso Hale. I know your sister Hazel because she was a good friend of my fiancé Leo. I'm glad we met at last. I heard a lot of good things about you from your sister"

Nico's attention perked up when Calypso mentioned the name Leo "Yeah, nice to meet you too. But, uh, you mentioned Leo, is that Leo Valdez, CEO of Valdez Biotech Corp? Because if it was him, I have to talk to him, maybe like right now, if that's possible"

Calypso raised an eyebrow at the urgency in Nico's voice "Yeah, that's my fiancé. It seems really important that you went all the way here because I heard that you were in Manhattan. Maybe, I can help you with that. He's in his office. Come with me"

Nico thanked Calypso profusely. He nearly wept in joy when Calypso came to his aid because he wasn't sure if he could ask an appointment to a freaking CEO. He could ask Hazel but that would take time and Nico couldn't afford to waste any time.

"Hazel endorsed you to us but we heard that you were already working at Triumvirate Laboratories" Calypso said when they were inside the VIP elevator going straight up to Leo's office.

"Yeah" Nico answered "I was also surprised that my application got accepted there immediately"

Nico narrowed his eyes as he stared at the steel door of the elevator. Now, he was sure that there's an underlying motives on why he got accepted there.

"Well, you are always welcome here, if you feel like working here –not that we're stealing you away from our competitor company" Calypso laughed "Hazel isn't a stranger to us. Besides, Hazel's jewelries are fantastic, she's always giving me large discounts on it"

By the time that they reached the floor, Nico decided that he liked Calypso. She was an out-going person and seemed pretty easy to talk to. They walked on a long carpeted hallway and stopped in front of a big black opaque glass door at the end of the hallway. Calypso pressed her thumb on the small scanner attached to the wall next to the door. It beeped and the glass door slid open. They stepped inside on a seemingly sophisticated and large receiving area. They turned on a corner and entered a door less room. Shelves were lined on the wall with what looked like a small machines and figurines, like robots. To their right, another glass door was already opened and Nico could hear a voice speaking in fluent Spanish. Calypso urged him to come with her in that room.

Finally, they reached Leo Valdez office. For a second, Nico thought that they emerged on a museum. It was like the other room they passed by but bigger. Still, there are shelves on the wall with more complicated small machines, which Nico didn't know if they were finished or not. Blueprints scrolls were neatly stacked on a big table on the far end and on the other far end side; a man was standing behind his desk talking animatedly to the Bluetooth earpiece attached to his ear. His hands were gesturing wildly in the air and talking in a rapid Spanish, his face gleaming with a mischievous smile. He seemed to be bursting with so much energy like he always took a gallon of caffeine every morning. He has an elfish look, with curly black hair, pointy ears and brown eyes glittering in the light. He has a slim build and average in height. He wore a white dress shirt with suspenders. His dress shirt was tucked in his brown pants. He seemed young to be a CEO.

Leo glanced at Calypso and to Nico while listening on the earpiece. Calypso mouthed _Nico di Angelo_ on him and he nodded briefly and gave Calypso a wink before speaking again on the earpiece.

Calypso snorted and muttered "What an idiot" Yet, she seemed flustered

She turned to Nico and gestured to the couch "Take a seat first Nico, while waiting for Leo to finish his phone call"

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience" Nico said sitting down "I should have given a notice first but it was kind of urgent. ."

Calypso smiled "Figured it would be. Besides, it's fine. Leo has nothing to do today except to assemble and dismantle things. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Coffee would be fine. Thank you" Nico smiled at her

Calypso nodded and left. After a short moment, she came back with a tray of two cups of coffee and set it down on the coffee table in front of Nico.

" _Si, si. Gracias. Senior"_ Leo said and tapped his earpiece

" _Buenos Dias, mi amor"_ Leo walked towards Calypso and kissed her on the cheek then stepped back to look at her face "Is it just me or you're getting more gorgeous every single day?"

"Shut up with your nonsense Valdez" Calypso rolled her eyes then pointed at Nico "Instead of flirting stupidly entertain your guest"

"Ah, of course" Leo faced Nico "Do you want me to dance or sing?"

Calypso looked like she wanted to smack Leo in the head with the tray she was holding while Nico didn't know what to make of it.

"I swear, sometimes I don't know how did you become a CEO" Calypso muttered

"I'm also wondering the same thing" Leo answered without missing a beat then he grinned at Nico "Anyhow, it's nice to finally meet you Nico"

"The pleasure is all mine" Nico stood up and reached for Leo"s hand for a handshake. Leo accepted it with a smile

"So what brought you here early in the morning?" Leo asked

"He said that he has something urgent to talk with you" Calypso said to Leo "So, I'll leave you two to talk" Calypso smiled at Nico then she left.

"So let's hear this urgent topic you want to talk about" Leo sat down opposite to Nico and sipped his coffee

"Where is the scepter of Deocletian?" Nico asked straight to the point

"Oh that. . ." Leo put down the cup on the table "The Triumvirate Laboratories got a hold of its rights after I lost the bidding on it at the end of summer last year. Honestly, Nero Johansen seemed so interested on having that scepter that he can afford to lose billions of dollars for it. Me not so much, I'll probably invest more on technological welfare that would improve human life"

Nico internally cursed when his suspicion had been confirmed. There's a part of him hoping that Nero didn't have the full ownership to it. Now it seemed that it was going to be hard to retrieve the sceptre from him.

"May I know why you are seemed interested in that scepter?" Leo asked. Somehow, he magically produced a copper wires and now braiding them together.

"Say, what do you know about that scepter?" Nico asked again ignoring Leo's question

Leo shrugged "Nothing much. I was interested at it first because it was a rare artefact and I like rare things. Besides, the myth surrounding it was interesting too, do you know that it was said that the Scepter of Deocletian could command the souls?"

Another internal cursed from Nico about this new found information. He muttered "Well, it wasn't a myth anymore"

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. I thought the government was also interested in having the rights of it. What happened?"

Another shrugged from Leo. His eyes trained to Nico but his hands were now twisting the copper wires here and there "Dunno what exactly happened, but I heard that Nero spent another billion of dollars so the government would take their hands off of it. Seriously, I don't know what's with that dude, he seemed so obsessed to it"

"So there's nothing could be done legally to retrieve that scepter from him?"

"Yes, why are you so interested to it too?"

"Like you, I was also fascinated on that scepter after reading an article on the magazine about it" Nico said sipping on his coffee. The coffee was good "So, this coffee, what was it? It was good. . ."

After meeting Leo, Nico went back to his apartment. When the shadows vomited him out from his wall, he paced back and forth deep in thought. Somehow, the pieces of puzzle were starting to fit in together in his head. And if there's one thing that started to make sense to him was, the reason why he's back in the mortal world that fateful night. For whatever reason, Hades chose him to save those souls that Nero was stealing. Nico was sure that the voices he heard in the basement of Triumvirate Laboratories were the souls he imprisoned there. The problem was, he's still not quite sure on how to release all those souls. Nico was sure that they won't listen to him because Nero had the scepter to command the souls.

And to add to his problems was the fact that Python was still out there hungry for his blood. However, right now, Nero Johansen was the more pressing problem at hand. He couldn't afford to lose any more time. Soon all of them will turn into monsters that will do Nero's bidding.

 _Think, di Angelo, use your old death angel knowledge_. He thought frustratingly as he continued to pace back and forth. What could he do to save them? He needed something that will match the power of Nero's scepter.

Nico froze.

Wait.

Maybe, he didn't need something but someone.

Will Solace.

Come to think of it, there's a patient in JHH whose soul was missing and Will mentioned that there were other patients like that one. Nico cursed. This was bad. If he's assumption was right, those missing souls were related to the scepter of Deocletian. Souls couldn't just disappear all of a sudden.

And if Nero couldn't be stopped anytime soon, even the souls of a living person could be in danger! Another reason he needed to act fast. Nico walked to his nightstand and picked up his phone. He called Will.

On the first ring, Will answered in his ever cheerful voice "Hey, sunshine what's up?"

"Will we needed to talk, where are you?"

"Nico you are making me nervous with the serious tone of your voice, are you going to break up with me?"

"Wha-No! It's not like that jeez. Not gonna do that. Not ever-"

"Good"

"-Yeah, anyway, what I wanted to talk was about the missing souls of the patients in your hospital"

"Oh"

"Yeah"

"So listen Will-"

"Hold that thought!"

Nico frowned "Why are you always doing that to me?"

"Actually, there's also something I want to say about the same topic. I'm still in the hospital. Meet me here"

"Okay" Nico said slowly "Let's meet there"

"All right. Love you"

"Love you. bye" Nico hang up Nico pocketed his phone in his jeans and was about to summon shadows when he's phone vibrated. Initially he thought that it was Will calling but when he looked up at his phone. It was an unknown number

Nico answered it nonetheless "Hello?"

"How are you, Nico di Angelo?"

Nico froze on the spot. He somehow recognized the voice.

"Mr. Luke Castellan?"

"I'm glad you recognized my voice"

After recovering from initial shock, Nico was boiling in anger. Luke Castellan was the culprit behind his hit and run case. How could Luke act as if nothing happened? If anything, Luke didn't seem to feel any remorse or guilt, like he didn't almost killed Nico. What kind of human was he? Maybe it was time to settle things with this bastard.

Nico clenched his hand "You are the one who hit me with your car last fall"

There's a long pause

"So you already remember what happened last year huh?"

"You are not going to get away with this, you asshole"

Luke had the nerve to laugh "And what are you going to do? Report me to the cops? Go on try it. Let's see what happens. Di Angelo, if there's one thing you need to know about, the justice in this world is already dead"

"Maybe, but not in the underworld"

"What?"

"What do you want from me, Castellan?"

"Good thing you ask, do you want to finish what we've started last year fall? Meet me at the 113th street right now. Go there _alone._ I mean business di Angelo. Don't underestimate what I can do" Luke hung up

 _This was all wrong._ Nico thought as he started to take steps. He should be asking help, calling for Reyna. Instead, he pocketed his phone again and the shadows started to engulf him. Nico vanished once again.

Nico materialized at 113th street. Yet, when he looked around, there's no one. It was an empty street. Was Luke bluffing about all of this? He should just have called Reyna instead of settling this on his own. Nico walked from the sidewalk across the street when a sound of an engine roared out of nowhere. In a split second, Nico felt a déjà vu.

Nico looked at his side and saw a car zooming towards him. Luke was inside driving the car.

 _That bastard, until the end._ Nico thought. He was about to shadow travel away when he felt someone pushed him from behind.

And several things happened at once.

Nico lost his balance and fell rolling to the ground, out of the way of the incoming car. He found himself lying on his side on the ground but immediately pushed himself on his elbow. That's when he saw, Kayla Knowles, friend of Will Solace was going to be hit by the car.

"No!" Nico roared, his arm outstretched towards Kayla

Kayla received the impact of the incoming car. She rolled on the hood and hit the windshield. The momentum made Kayla almost sailed through the air. She was about to hit the ground when shadows wrapped around her.

Then Nico saw it, Kayla glimmered for a second, a white smoke came out from her and faded out in the air immediately.

Nico manipulated the shadows to settle Kayla down to the ground. He stood up and whipped his head at the direction of Luke's retreating car. Nico outstretched his arm again, shadows started to engulf the car and the car halted. He strode towards the car and yanked the car's door on the driver side open. He held Luke at the back of his collar and pulled him out of the car. Nico threw him on the ground. Luke seemed frozen on his spot and he seemed terrified at the shadows that still engulfing the car.

Nico crouched next to Luke and looked squarely at Luke's wide eyes. He fisted Luke's collar "Here's the deal, bastard. You are going to the police and you are going to confess whatever you did on this street. You hear me? And if you didn't do that, I swear to all the gods out there, I am going to open personally the gates of hell and escort you there and watched you be damned for eternity. You don't underestimate me because I can do much more than summoning shadows. Got that? Now get outta here"

Luke was not moving.

"Go" Nico growled at him

Luke scrambled to stand and ran. Nico didn't even watch where Luke was going. He knew that he already made a point on that bastard. Instead, he ran towards Kayla who was lying unconscious on the ground.

"Kayla!" Nico knelt beside Kayla

There's a blood gushing down the side of Kayla's temple. Her left arm seemed dislocated. And at one look, Nico knew that Kayla's soul was gone somewhere away. If Nico's assumption was right, Kayla's soul was at Nero's basement.

Nico dialled 911 and of course, Will Solace.

* * *

 **oo00oo**

"I am so sorry Kayla, that you had to do my volunteering check ups in the foster home. I need to meet Nico asap, 'cos we might already solve at last the whole mystery about these coma patients. . ."

Kayla was inside her car as she maneuvred along the street. She sighed as she talked at her Bluetooth earpiece "Be thankful, Solace I was just around the area. You so owe me big time. And go, wake those patients up!"

"We will do our best and yeah, I owe you one, thanks so much!"

They said their good byes and hang up. Kayla removed her earpiece and put it on the center console box. She hummed at the music on her stereo, her eyes on the road. Suddenly, her peripheral vision seemed to notice someone familiar when she passed by a certain street.

"Huh?" Kayla stepped on the brakes "Is that the person I thought it would be?"

Kayla looked at the rear mirror and reversed her car. It moved backwards, going back to that street. She stopped at the corner of 113th street and rolled down her window. She saw Nico di Angelo standing at the sidewalk looking around.

"I thought Will's going to meet him at the hospital, what is he doing here?" Kayla muttered rolling her window up and turned off the engine of her car. She climbed down her car. She walked towards Nico.

She was about to call him when Nico crossed the street and stopped at the middle. Kayla halted at the sound of another car. The car was going towards Nico and the car seemed had no plan on stopping. Nico seemed frozen on his spot.

"Oh no, this is not going to be another hit and run version 2.0. Blondie will go insane when that happens" Kayla muttered as she ran towards Nico and pushed him out of the way.

Kayla didn't know what exactly happened but she felt like dreaming. She felt like Supergirl, flying and overseeing the skyscrapers of New York. She had one destination in mind as she flew. A certain place was drawing her in.

* * *

 **Initially, i was planning to finish TCDL this month but because life got in the way, i moved my deadline on September.**

 **GUYS, I ESTIMATED, FIVE MORE CHAPTERS LEFT AND TCDL IS DONE. IM HAVING MIX EMOTIONS ON THIS.**

 **Thank you guys for the people who stayed with this story from the beginning until this point and for those people who are going to stick to the end. Thank you for putting up with me even though my writing skill is just your average.**

 **Please review! What do you think will happen? hahaha**

 **Thank you for subscribing to the story!**

 **Stay tuned for the last chapters of adventures and love of death angel Nico and prodigy doctor Will!**

 **_Nikki**


	52. L - NICO

**L**

 **NICO**

"Will, I am so sorry-" Nico started.

"Don't you dare say that it's your fault," Will cut him off and looked at Nico sharply.

They were in front of the door of the operating room at Jupiter Half-blood Hospital. Kayla Knowles was inside the operating room. She sustained an internal bleeding in the head and several fractures in her arms and legs. Will Solace was of course shocked when he received the phone call from Nico, and when he saw Kayla unconscious and bleeding in the stretcher, it added to the guilt that Nico felt in that moment.

"But-"

"Nico, you might not remember this but we had this kind of conversation before, you were blaming yourself for something that's not entirely your fault. Remember the big fight we had that I unintentionally slipped before? It was all about blaming yourself for my mother's death."

Nico took a sharp intake of breath, "W-what?"

Will held Nico's hand and guided him to the nearby bench. They both sat. The blond looked at their interlaced fingers. "You were still a death angel at that time when my mother had lung cancer. Her chance of surviving was fifty-fifty. We thought that the best course of action that time was to remove the tumour near her heart. You encouraged me to operate on her because of the high chance of survival if I used my glowing trick.

"Everything was going well until my mom went into a cardiac arrest twice and my power wasn't working on her anymore. Your sister Bianca was there and she was the one who was supposed to escort my mom's soul and if she failed to do so, it would result in a punishment for her because she didn't reach her quota for souls. You blamed yourself for it because you thought that I wasn't able to save my mom because of your sister. But medically speaking, her heart just gave up on her due to the tumour and severe bleeding. Later on I realized and learned that mom willingly embraced death, and that's why she couldn't be saved by my power anymore. My power works best to those who still want to live. So no matter what, there's nothing we could do about it."

Nico stared at Will who in that exact moment looked up at Nico too. Will, who always had tired but bright eyes, who always wore a crumpled light blue surgeon's scrub shirt that almost matched his eyes, and who was always going to be beautiful and blindingly radiant.

"What are you thinking?" Will whispered to him.

"Wondering how all this time you never gave up on me. It's pretty mind-blowing, to be honest."

Will threw his head back and a loud laugh escaped his lips. It resonated through the quiet hallway and Nico just fell in love with him even more.

"Okay." Will wiped the side of his eyes with his other free hand. When he sobered up, he spoke, "Well, it's pretty rare to come across and fall in love with a death angel so I'm not gonna waste the rare opportunity." He laughed again and Nico joined him.

Then Will suddenly frowned, "I shouldn't be laughing so carefree like this when my friend is out there fighting for her life. . ."

Nico tightened his hold on Will's hand. "Kayla will live, we'll make sure of that."

Will raised an eyebrow at Nico.

"Actually, there's something I need to tell to you," Nico started. He proceeded to launch into his story about his resurfaced memory on October 20th last year and all about Nero Johansen and the missing souls. Will was quiet the whole time that Nico talked. He was still quiet for a moment after Nico finished his story. Will frowned and looked down, seeming to be deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?"

"That actually makes sense." Will looked back up at Nico.

"What?"

"Bianca told me before about the case of missing souls and it makes sense that those missing souls were related to the ones missing here in the hospital. All this time, that Nero Johansen dude was the culprit behind all of this. She also told me that I could summon souls because of my power. If that's the case, maybe I could set those souls free from that basement. What do you think?"

Nico stared at Will. "I take it that you and my sister bonded a lot?"

"Uh, well. To be honest, your sister hated the hell out of me because I always got you into trouble. She doesn't talk to me a lot but she promised to help us with Python-shit. I'm not supposed to tell that."

Nico smiled a little. "Just tell me… is she okay?"

"Yes. I guess you already remembered your sister, huh?" There was a wistful look on Will's face.

"I'm sorry."

Will shook his head. "Stop apologizing. As long as you are here with me, that's all I care about. Somehow, I'm a little bit glad that it's just your memory that was taken away and not you entirely. Anyway, what's the plan about these missing souls?"

"Will, there's something more you need to know."

"And that is?"

"Kayla's soul is one of those souls imprisoned in the basement."

Will froze. "S-so Kayla won't wake up either unless her soul comes back?" There was a crack in his voice and Nico hated it.

"Yeah. . ."

"I hate this Nero Johansen even more by the second. Tell me, what do we need to do?"

And Nico told him his plan.

"That sounds dangerous," Will said worriedly to Nico after he finished.

"But that's the only way. We've got to do it."

Will was silent for a moment. Then he spoke again, "Just promise you'll come back to me, okay?"

"Will. . ."

"Promise me or else I'll come with you and nothing will ever stop me from doing that, I swear."

"All right! Jeez. I'll come back, okay? I promise. Besides, you can't come with me. Your job is here and you need to be here so our plan will work."

"Okay. . ."

"Will . . ."

"I'm worried, okay? There are a lot of things that might go wrong with this."

"I love you."

"Really, di Angelo, you're gonna pull that on me? Don't act cute. It's not going to work."

"Damn, I thought it would."

"Nico! Let's be serious about this."

"I am! I am seriously in love with you and I am serious that I'm going to come back to you no matter what it takes and stop squeezing my hand so hard, you're going to break my fingers off-"

Will kissed him as he let go of Nico's hand to hold both sides of his face. Nico just kissed him back because at that moment, there seemed like nothing else that could be done to ebb away the fear that was building inside them. Nico wouldn't admit this, but he was just as afraid as Will. He knew that Death was an old friend of his and even though there was nothing to be afraid of about it, it was different when there was someone who was anchoring him back to life.

Nico was the first one to pull away as Will's eyes fluttered open. "We're gonna make it to the end. Then I am going to marry you and we're going to build our own family. We're going to be happy."

Will's eyes widen. "N-Nico. . ."

Nico closed his eyes for a moment then he opened them. This time he was the one who held both sides of Will's face. "I know this is all of a sudden and there's no ring present but I want you to hold onto that promise because that dream is going to be our strength to get through this. Do you understand me, William?"

Will just swallowed and nodded eagerly.

"Good." He let go of Will. Then Nico's eyes became steely, his eyes gleaming. There was a challenging look on his face as he smirked. "Let's finish this, once and for all"

* * *

Nico was walking down the lobby of JHH towards the exit of the hospital. He left Will when Lou and Cecil came. Kayla was still in the operating room when he left. Phone in hand, he was about to call Reyna when her friend beat him to it. He immediately answered it.

"Reyna, good thing you called, I was about-"

"Luke Castellan confessed to his crime," Reyna cut him off. "I mean I just came to the station just now after a field investigation then Luke Castellan was here confessing that he was the one who hit you that night on October 20th."

"Good," Nico answered as he pushed his way out the revolving door. "Actually, I now remember everything that happened on that day. Good thing that he already confessed."

"What? You remembered now? Since when? What else do you remember?" Reyna bombarded.

Nico wanted to call it an achievement because it was rare that he was able to surprise the hell out of Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. He paused at the sidewalk and sighed frustratingly. "I'm sorry, but that's all I remember about and it just happened earlier. Anyway, did Luke also confess about hitting another person on that road today?"

"Well, yeah, Kayla Knowles, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything from here."

"Thanks Reyna." Nico bit his lip. "And Reyna, you're excellent at dissecting the truth from lies, right? Please do the interrogation on Luke alone. Some of his statements might be absurd to hear and hard to believe but please keep in mind that they are the truth and he's telling the truth, okay?"

"Nico, what are you talking about?"

"There's not much time to explain everything to you right now because there's something I have to do first. I'll just call you later, okay? Bye Reyna." Nico hang up

He pocketed his phone and started running, because time was sparse and he couldn't afford to lose any of it. He turned to a corner and went into an alley. He ran faster as he reached the dead end, and shadows appeared around him. He ran straight to the wall and disappeared with the shadows.

Nico appeared exactly where he wanted to be, the CCTV room of the Triumvirate Laboratories. While working there, he spent some of his time memorizing the map of Triumvirate Lab so he could conjure up a mental map and would know exactly where to shadow travel. The seven employees who were manning the screen and controls were flabbergasted to see Nico di Angelo come out of nowhere and standing in front of them. There was a moment of silence and Nico took advantage of it.

"Merry Christmas," Nico stoically greeted. Then he started to shadow travel to each one of them and started to knock them out cold. In less than a minute, all of them were lying unconscious on the floor

"Sorry about that." Nico observed his finished work. Then he went to the controls and turned off the cctv camera on the section of forbidden basement and deleted the footage on the cctv room itself. Best not to leave any evidence of what he could do or else he'll never have a normal life with Will in this world.

After that, Nico disappeared again and reappeared in the hallway of the forbidden basement. Not too far and at the end of the hallway was the big vaulted door waiting for him.

Nico raised his arms level to his chest and pushed his hands together as if he was praying. With hands still together, he shifted his left hand so his fingers were now pointing forward. Shadows started to curl around his hands. He then moved his hands away from each other and a pole-like shadow materialized from the space where his hands had separated. It solidified and Nico grabbed hold of the end of it. As Nico held it, it shifted into another form. From the part where Nico was holding it, it turned into a black hilt and the rest became a blade-black as night and sharper than any sword forged in the underworld.

He was now holding his Stygian Iron sword.

Nico swung it in the air and the blade cut into the space. His surrounding atmosphere hissed with energy.

He started running again towards the door, towards the battle that was about to begin. Because he could feel it, the sceptre of Diocletian was inside, and so was Nero Johansen and the souls screaming for help.

Nico became shadows once more and he went straight through the door. He materialized inside, his sword in hand.

His confidence wavered as his heart sank.

The basement was big enough to host hundreds of souls glimmering in black smoke. They were all standing in the center and in front of him. They -souls that lost their essence as they turned into monsters ready to wreck havoc any second-all looked at him as if they anticipated his coming. Nero Johansen had been very busy these past months to create armies of the dead.

Nico would have lost all hope to save any souls if it weren't for what he saw on both sides of the basement: white, glistening souls whose essences were still intact. They were all imprisoned inside enchanted long steel cages.

On the other end of the basement across Nico, a chair that looked too much like a throne was standing erect. A figure was standing next to it, proud and tall, holding the sceptre.

"They're a work of art aren't they?" Nero Johansen asked in a silky voice.

Nico's whole body trembled with rage, hands curling into fists and knuckles turning white. "How could you? This is beyond evil. You'll never pass the judgement in the underworld and you'll head straight to the fields of punishment. Hades will make sure of that."

Nero laughed. "And I'll make sure that it's not going to happen and you'll die right here. You've been a nuisance to me and if you just hadn't lost your memories, you would have been dead long ago, di Angelo. I've been merciful to you so far and this time I am bringing you no mercy. My warriors are going to destroy you before you even blink. I should be thankful to Leo Valdez since he discovered the sceptre, after all, but he was just unfortunate not to discover the true power of it. Now, I have immortal force for my syndicate that's even better than those tiny human beings who could die so easily. My warriors are going to replace them and we are going to conquer the world!" Nero's laughter boomed.

No, Nico couldn't do this. He couldn't defeat them all at once. He was outnumbered.

 _Lord Hades, please, help me. I cannot do this alone._ Nico shut his eyes.

"My warriors, kill Nico Di Angelo!"

 _You are the prince of the underworld. You have the power of the underworld because it belongs to you. I am with you. . ._

Nico's eyes snapped open at the exact same moment the armies of the dead surged toward him. Nico screamed, a loud battle cry emitting from his throat.

Nico released an invisible force so strong it rattled the whole basement. Cracks formed around the ceiling and walls. It was like a tidal wave that extinguished half of the row of the dead.

Nico's eyes were obsidian black. He started moving, like a whirlwind, bashing and smashing the dead that hit his sword. He was an atomic energy itself, unleashing the wrath of the underworld.

Nero Johansen started to scream in frustration and when he saw his armies diminishing fast, he continued to sprout useless command after command. By the time Nico was halfway towards the throne, the armies-who were still stupidly protecting Nero and the throne-were reduced to less than half.

"Stop hiding behind the dead and face me, you cowardice asshole!" Nico spat, black aura accompanying his rage and surrounding his body.

"Your wish is my command," Nero spat back, glowing purple, blessed by the power of the sceptre. He flew towards Nico. The sceptre and the Stygian Iron sword collided in a cross. The collision released yet again another powerful force that created a sound of explosion.

Nero pushed Nico back, their weapons still at cross. Nico side-stepped and parried the sceptre. A combination of black and purple sparks flew out of their weapons and hit the wall behind Nico where the door was placed. The section of the wall was blasted off, resulting in a big, gaping hole. A wailing fire alarm could be heard, and the lights flickered on and off.

They continued to strike at each other, Stygian Iron sword versus the purple laser beam that came out of the scepter's orb. Nico got hit by it on his left forearm once and it burned like acid, his arm starting to inflame and swell; yet, he ignored the pain.

Nero was quick to find an opening and knocked the sword out of Nico's hand. It skittered on the floor away from Nico. Nero shot another laser beam at him but Nico dived to the side and rolled on the floor, grabbing his sword in the process. He shadow-traveled and materialized beside Nero, slashing Nero's side with his sword. The latter bellowed in pain as he clutched his bleeding waist, and Nico disappeared again.

The dark-haired boy reappeared in front of Nero and Nico hit him in the face with the pommel of his sword. Nero staggered back as Nico knocked the sceptre out of Nero's hand. This time it was Nero's sceptre that skittered along the floor, but Nico didn't let him go near it. He twisted Nero's arm and hit him on the back of his neck, and Nero was out cold.

Nico let Nero go as the latter slumped to the floor. He looked at the sceptre on the floor not too far away from him, then back at the remaining armies of the dead, who seemed to be waiting for a new command.

"I am so sorry," Nico said to them. "I am so sorry that I was too late and couldn't save all of you."

Nico raised his sword and thrust it to the floor, creating a gust of wind and hitting the dead like a tidal-wave. They evaporated in thin air, producing a hiss that sounded close to a "Thank you".

Afterwards, Nico looked at both sides. The imprisoned souls shimmering in white were looking at him with curiosity. He tried to feel the presence of a certain soul, hoping that she was present.

A small smile graced Nico's lips. Kayla Knowles was there.

Nico shadow-travel again and appeared in front of one of the cages. He raised his sword, and with a battle cry and all his might, he slashed vertically at the steel bars as he ran along. The bars snapped into two as black sparks flew out from his sword. He did the same thing with the other cage. Soon, all of the souls were free and gathered in the center. Nico stood in front of them.

"So, listen-"

He was interrupted when a soul of a child tugged on the hem of his shirt. He looked down at the child who shimmered as he pointed to the wall in the far left corner.

"What is it?" Nico crouched down so he was eye-level to the child.

The soul just continued to point at the corner; he seemed to urge Nico to go there.

Nico walked over and stood in front of the wall, surveying it. "What's wrong with this wall?" He asked the child.

Instead of answering, the soul pointed to a specific square tile that Nico was stepping on.

"This?" Nico stepped back and pointed to the square tile. If Nico looked closely, the tile was a shade darker from the rest of the tiles.

The child nodded, and Nico crouched and pried the square tile off the floor with the sharp end of his sword. Soon, the square tile was removed. There was a red button attached to the floor, waiting to be pushed. Nico looked inquiringly at the child, and the soul nodded, glimmering. Nico pushed the button and there was a rumbling sound behind the wall. The wall shifted back and it slid open, revealing an entrance.

Nico stood up and went inside. It was a big storage room that held lots of illegal drugs, high powered weapons, stashes of money, and a lot of files that documented years of illegal transactions.

Nico whistled as he continued to look around. "The cops would make a feast out of this."

After surveying the room, Nico walked out with the soul beside him. "Thank you," he said.

The soul child just grinned and skipped happily towards the rest of the waiting souls. Nico walked towards the front of the crowd and said, "I am so sorry that it took this long to rescue you. But now all of you are free and you can go back to your respective bodies, if there's still a body to go back to.

"Now, as to how you get back to your body, you'll feel it and a blindingly ray of light will shine nearby. Follow that light because it's a person who'll give you directions to where you need to go." Nico smiled.

 _Will, I'm counting the rest on you. . ._

One by one, souls started to glimmer and vanish.

After a while, he was staring at the empty space surrounding him, no longer occupied by the souls. And in that moment, the adrenaline of the battle seemed to leave Nico's body. He staggered forward as he used his sword, like a cane, to support himself and to help him not fall to the floor.

"Holy Hera!"

Nico yelped, his sword immediately vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. He turned toward the direction of the voice. Two police officers were standing not too far away.

One had windswept jet-black hair and sea green eyes, and he walked towards the bleeding and unconscious Nero Johansen.

The other had clean-cut blond hair and blue eyes, his physical features reminding Nico of Will.

The blond jogged towards him, and Nico stood straighter as he mentally winced at the look of the whole place. It was a total wreck.

"Jason Grace, NYPD." The blond held his badge out for Nico to see, and once he had a good look, he pocketed it in his backpocket. He jerked his finger towards the direction of the other police officer who was checking Nero Johansen. "That's my bro, Percy Jackson. Did you kill that guy?"

"He's still alive."

"Oh, so you didn't kill him?"

"No."

"Good. We were around the area when we heard the explosion from this building. All employees have been safely evacuated."

"Okay."

"Do we even want to know what happened here?" Jason stared at the big hole in the wall.

"Ugh, probably not? Look, I just discovered that Nero Johansen is a boss of a syndicate and he has lots of illegal stuff in that storage room." Nico pointed to the open wall that led to the storage room in the corner.

The blond whipped his head around to Nico, his eyes wide. Then his gaze followed the direction of where Nico was pointing.

"Are you serious?" Jason asked, flabbergasted.

"Deadly." Nico had a straight face on. "You might want to check that out."

"Oh, damn." Jason ran towards the storage room.

Nico jogged towards Percy Jackson who was covering Nero's gash with a handkerchief and torn cloth from Nero's shirt.

"How is he?" Nico asked Percy.

"I'm not a doctor but I think he'll live. The wound isn't too deep." Percy looked up at Nico. For a moment, Nico was startled at the shocking sea green eyes of the police officer. "Did you do this to him?"

"Ugh yeah, to defend myself because he was going to kill me."

"So self-defense. We'll need your statement for this later. Okay?" Percy stood up. His attention shifted to the blistering arm of Nico. He frowned "Your arm needs medical attention; it looks like it hurts a lot"

"Don't worry, I'll live-" Nico remembered something. He looked around. Something was missing. "H-hey, did you see some sort of long staff lying around here? It was like a sceptre with a purple orb on the top of it?"

Percy frowned. "I didn't notice anything."

"Godsdamnit," Nico cursed. He couldn't lose the sceptre of Diocletian. It was dangerous, and if someone found it lying around, they could use its evil power again. He looked around the room, desperately trying to find it.

Suddenly, a bark echoed in the basement. Nico whipped his head at the direction of the bark. Mrs. O'Leary was standing at the hole, barking insistently at Nico.

"Mrs O'Leary!" Nico ran towards the dog; yet, before he could come close to her, she ran away. Nico followed the black Rottweiler.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Percy shouted at him. Nico ignored him

Nico reached another long and dimly lit hallway, the Rottweiler in front of him. In that moment, something dawned upon on Nico as he looked down at the dog.

"You were protecting me all this time that's why you we're always by my side." Nico realized as he continued to run. "You were protecting me from Python. Since I couldn't remember anything before, I had no means of protecting myself from Python's revenge and from him possessing me. You know where Python is, right?"

Mrs O'Leary barked.

"Is he here? Does he have the sceptre?"

The dog barked again, and Mrs O'Leary paused when a red ball rolled out of nowhere, distracting her. She started to play with it.

"Hey, Mrs O'Leary! Aren't we supposed-"

Nico froze.

He should have known that he just freaking walked into a trap.

"Good dog," a voice whispered right behind Nico.

Before Nico could do anything, he felt like he was being electrocuted. He felt his body spasm, and then everything went black.

* * *

 **I KNOW. I know! September is going to end in a week and i just updated TCDL now. Guys, i know i sucked at meeting the deadlines. BUT if there's one thing that i can guarantee to you is, I WILL FINISH THIS STORY NO MATTER WHAT.**

 **On the other note, I found a beta! YAY. this always happens to me, i always managed to find a beta every time my story is about to end. why. lol. Anyway, my beta is bmattny16, remember her? she's the one i mentioned before who has an amazing pjo gay prompts on wattpad, so check out her story! Her username there is bmattny_16.**

 **Reviews guys? what do you think will happen to our favorite couple? I'd love to hear your predictions! :D**

 **As always, thank you for reading and subscribing to the story!**

 **~Nikki**


	53. LI - WILL

**LI**

 **WILL**

Will Solace was standing on the helipad at Jupiter Half-blood Hospital, his white coat billowing in the wind. The sky was painted in a combination of red, orange, blue, and purple as the sun set in the far off horizon. Will could have admired the view, if not for the dread settling in his stomach.

"Nico is much stronger than he lets on, you know." Bob Iapetus stepped forward as he stood beside Will.

The blond had no idea how, but this death angel seemed to get the whiff of Nico's plan and appeared out of nowhere in front of Will Solace. Bob offered his help to mobilize the crowd of incoming souls, which Will was grateful for. The death angel was the one who was going to collect the souls that was bound to go to the Underworld, while Will was the one who was going to be in charge of putting the souls back into their respective bodies in JHH.

"Even if he is Superman, I couldn't help but to worry. Even the strongest person falls. . ." Will shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his lab coat.

Bob playfully nudged Will. "Hey, where's the optimistic Will that I used to know-"

Will turned his head to Bob cutting him off. "Do you know me?"

"Boss is going to kill me," Bob muttered and sighed helplessly. "I've been watching you and Nico ever since he became a mortal. I just have to be extra careful since both of you could see death angels. By the way, I ship Solangelo hard, if you know what I mean. . I've been hearing this colloquial term _shipping_ among these young mortals, so. . " Bob cleared his throat.

Will stared at Bob. "Why are you watching us?"

"Nico is my friend too, you know. And, uh, let's just say that he made some enemies after he saved you so I have to look after him as well."

"Like a guardian angel?" Will smiled at him.

Bob frowned. "Guardian angel? Ah!" His face lit up. "Is that the people who have big white wings?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, they also look after people to keep them safe."

"Oh I see, I've also been reading a lot of books about humans so I'm starting to slowly get the hang of everything." Bob bounced happily on his heels.

Will opened his mouth to ask for more when both of them froze. Will's head whipped in the direction of the horizon, the air seeming to get colder despite the hot season.

"They're coming," Bob warned, seeing the glimmer on one specific place far ahead.

Will took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He started to glow-a glow that was brighter than what he ever released before. Tendrils of golden light started to curl around him and Bob was in awe of the sight of Will for a moment. Will was just. . .magnificent.

 _Souls, who were wrongly imprisoned, come forth and do my bidding._

 _Twelve souls will come with me and the rest will go with the death angel._

Will opened his eyes and looked at Bob. "I'm going. Take care of them, okay?"

Bob nodded. "Go."

"Thank you." Will turned around and started to run to get back inside the hospital, tendrils of light trailing after him. He went down a series of staircase, because he couldn't wait for the elevator, and then went down another series of hallways. Will was trying to catch his breath when he stopped in front of the door at the end of a particular hallway. A name of a patient was plastered on the wall next to the door. _Kayla Knowles._

He looked down at his glowing hand holding the door handle.

Twelve souls to save.

Will never mentioned it to anyone-especially to Nico-but using his power for that huge amount of souls is dangerous. Because when Will used his power, it was like he was giving a piece of his energy and life to that someone, and using it non-stop would drain him and kill him right there on the spot. That's why he was limiting the use of it as much as possible. His power might have gotten stronger but it still had its limits.

Will sighed. "Let's be optimistic, Solace. You still have someone to marry." He pushed the door and it slid open on its hinges.

He went straight to Kayla's bed. Kayla was lying on the bed, several tubes attached to her body: a neck brace around her neck and a gauze bandage wrapped around her head. Several braces were also attached to her arms and legs. The continuous beeping of the heart monitor served as reminder for Will that his best friend was not yet dead.

He hunched over to hold her hand gently and kissed her forehead. He whispered, "Your long sleep is over, Kayla. Time to wake up." He closed his eyes, and tendrils of light started to envelop Kayla's body.

 _Kayla, come back now._

Then he heard a snap and he opened his eyes as he looked upon his best friend's face.

Will was completely still for a moment. He could feel it-her soul was back on her body. Kayla's eyes slowly fluttered open, and Will's own eyes started to well up.

Nonetheless, Will smiled through the tears. "Welcome back," he said, his voice cracking.

Kayla opened her mouth as if she was saying something. Will leaned closer to her as he spoke, "What was that?"

"You . . . glow . . ."

Will smiled as he pulled away to look at Kayla. "Yeah. Now you have to rest up to get back your strength, okay? Your patients have missed you."

Kayla nodded briefly.

"See you later. Bye Kayla."

Wil kissed her forehead and gently squeezed her hand before heading out of the room.

Unknown to Will, Kayla was looking at his retreating figure. A tear slid down her cheek. She couldn't say it out loud but she suddenly felt an ominous and horrible feeling like Will was saying goodbye to her for good.

Will craned his neck as he strode through the empty hallway.

11 patients to go.

He looked down at his palm where he wrote all the patients names whose souls were missing.

"Right. Robert Paxton. Room 4356," Will muttered looking at his palm as he turned a corner.

For a while, Will was going room to room, sometimes a blinding light would seep through the window of a certain patient's room. He was sweating buckets and he was starting to feel the side-effects of using his power. In spite of that, Will dared to hope that everything would go well and he would reunite with Nico soon. Nico promised that they would go on a nice dinner date after everything had passed. That made Will feel better and it gave him another boost of strength.

"Emily Smith is next." Will wiped his forehead with the back of his other hand as he looked down at his palm, walking down the hallway.

"Will!"

Will looked up and paused when he saw Lou and Cecil running towards him.

"Did you know that Martha Robinson is awake now?" Lou said as soon as they reached the blond. "She's one of the bizarre coma patients. Did you perhaps have something to do with this?" She said the last part in a lower voice.

"Uh, well. You know what, I'll just explain later, yeah?" Will asked wiping his temple.

"Are you alright?" Cecil asked. "You're sweating a lot."

"Well, I've been running from here and there."

"Running?" Lou frowned.

"I'll just explain everything to you later. I have to go. I have something urgent to do first."

Before they could ask, Will was running off again.

"Hey Will!"

The latter two just looked at each other.

Will stood straighter as he looked down at the patient, Emily Smith, lying on the bed unconscious. She's the eighth patient on the list and Will already snapped her soul back to her body so he knew that she was going to wake up soon too. He turned around to head out the room when he suddenly staggered sideways. Fortunately, he ended up leaning on the wall next to him.

Will shook his head as a sudden vertigo hit him. His vision started to blur so he closed his eyes briefly, trying to will the dizziness away.

"Come on, three more patients," Will muttered. He opened his eyes and his sight was clear again.

He stood up straighter, and then noticed, as he looked down, that the sleeves of his lab coat were smoking and blackening as if it had been burned. Will immediately removed his coat, and he saw that both his forearms were blistering and his hands were swelling.

"W-what?" Will was stunned at the sight of his arms. He took a deep breath when a realization dawned on him. "I-is this another side effect?"

He flexed his hands; they hurt a bit but it was tolerable. He decided to drop by the medical supplies room for a quick wrap up of his arms. After a moment, Will found himself sitting on a stretcher inside the medical supplies room as he wrapped his arm with a bandage. He stared at his bandaged arms briefly. He had already discarded his coat and was just wearing his scrub uniform. He hopped down the stretcher.

"Let's go, Will Solace," he said to himself. "Just three more patients. You can do this." He walked out the room.

Kayle Mendez. The last patient on Will's list whose soul successfully returned to her body. Will walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Will wanted to celebrate his success, but he couldn't ignore the fact that he felt like he had a fever of 104°F. He felt so exhausted; his ears were ringing and vision was blurring again.

He himself staggered through the hallway. His head hurt badly and his heartbeat was erratic. Actually, Will felt like he was dying. He clutched his chest as he continued to stagger forward. He couldn't see anymore because everything seemed white.

 _Seriously, is this how am I going to die? Really? I still want to-_

Then everything went black.

 _Nico._

That was the last thing on his mind as he fell to the hospital floor.

* * *

 **oo00oo**

"Did you notice anything strange about Will? He looked . . . weird," Cecil commented as both of them walked side by side down the hallway of JHH.

"Yes. It makes me uneasy." Lou clicked her tongue. "He looked so pale."

"Maybe he's sick?"

Lou hummed. "That idiot. He doesn't ever know when to rest, does he?" Lou said, annoyed. "Let's go find him, I really have a bad feeling about this."

"Oh!" Cecil stopped and pointed his finger to his left where there was another section of hallway. A figure was lying on the floor up ahead.

"I-is that Will?!" Cecil's eyes were wide as he looked at Lou.

Lou cursed as she ran towards Will, Cecil right behind her.

"Will!" Lou shouted as she crouched down next to Will's unconscious body.

"What happened to his arm?" Cecil frowned, staring at Will's arm.

"N-no pulse. . ."

Cecil whipped his head towards Lou. "What?"

"He's not breathing," Lou said as she checked again for Will's pulse on his neck.

"No, no, you idiot. What's happening to you?" Lou started to perform CPR on Will, her tears spilling from her eyes and down her cheeks.

* * *

 **o00oo**

Apollo Charleston was in his apartment, standing in front of a ceiling-to-floor window, overlooking the skyscrapers of Manhattan. He had been standing there for so long that the coffee on the center table of his living room had gone cold and forgotten. Music sheets were scattered haphazardly on the same table. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his trousers.

The apartment door opened and then closed, a _clink_ of stilettos echoed on the marble tiled floor.

"Mr. Charleston." His secretary stopped five feet away behind Apollo. "You should be ready for your appointment in the recording studio."

Apollo was quiet and didn't budge for so long that she thought he didn't hear her so she spoke again, "Mr. Charles-"

"What are you doing you old monk death breathe!" Apollo suddenly shouted, startling the secretary so bad, she almost knocked the big ornament vase off the small table beside her.

"This is your mess and I am the one who should clean it for you? Wow. What am I, your servant?" Apollo said again, stomping his feet like a child. "And now you're dragging my son into it. You can't be serious!"

"M-mr. Charleston?"

Apollo turned around, looking surprised at seeing his secretary. "How long were you standing there?"

"F-for a while. . ."

"Really? Well, okay. I'm going to head out-"

"B-but what about the appointment?"

"Cancel all of them." Apollo walked passed her while muttering. "Jeez. I should have taken care of that bastard a long time ago. I swear, he gives me a headache every millennium."

* * *

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	54. LII - WILL

**LII**

 **WILL**

Will instantly knew that he was in a dream. He used to dream a lot about Nico but this was different. In his dream, Nico was tied to a chair on a rooftop of a building. He was talking to a man in front of him who Will recognized as Bryce Lawrence, brother of a resident doctor in JHH, Agatha Lawrence.

"You tried to kill me three times, you asshole," Nico spat at Bryce. "You were the one who gave me the cookies back then. I don't know how you know my allergy or that it could kill me, same as the subway incident and the bathroom incident in Broadway."

Bryce scratched his chin as he played with a kitchen knife on his other hand. "I don't know why but you seemed to have lady-luck on your side. You always managed to survive. Then of course, there was your stupid hellhound and this annoying big dude in black like you who's constantly around you, so I couldn't do more to you. It's just recently that I discovered the red ball trick to distract that hellhound. I don't know what happened to that other guy but he seems to be MIA at the moment. No one's going to save you now." Bryce gave him a wicked smile.

He crouched in front of Nico, still playing with the knife. Its sharp end gleamed against the emergency lamp sitting on a stack of wooden boards not too far away. "So, how should we start this? Do you even know where we are? Do you remember this place?"

Nico looked around. A look of recognition passed on his face but he didn't say anything.

"That's right." Bryce stood up as he walked in circle. He then paused to look at Nico. "This is the place where you killed me almost a year ago, remember? You stabbed me with that weird looking sword inside this building."

Will was confused for a moment. Stabbed? Killed? He killed Bryce? But that's impossible, because-

He was then hit by a sudden realization that the one who was speaking wasn't Bryce Lawrence, but Python. He started to feel dread as his dream was slowly turning into a nightmare.

Python, in the body of Bryce, tsked. "I figured that I should do the same to you, you know, stab you. It's not a sword but this knife will do."

"Then do it." Nico didn't miss a beat. "This is what you were aiming for a long time, right? To kill me?"

Python nodded. "At first that was the plan. I didn't want to die yet so I could take my revenge on you. That's why I possessed the first person I encountered on the street, which is this body," he pointed to himself. "Do you know that you were not the only person at the scene where you got hit by that idiotic Luke Castellan with his car? I was there too. I mean the real Bryce was and then I possessed him and learned all about the Diocletian's sceptre." Python walked to the stack of wooden boards, bringing the sceptre out of its hiding place.

"Let's just say that I was lucky to have possessed Bryce when I did." He walked back towards Nico, the sceptre in hand. "Because if I didn't possess Bryce in that instant, I might have been sucked up by this sceptre too. Like those countless souls who fell under this sceptre's spell. So, another plan had been made. I would take my revenge and get this sceptre from that bastard Nero. Actually, I was a bit glad that he was already caught by the police. He was so annoying that he did nothing but boss us around. If not for the money, I would have ended him a long time ago." Python shook his head. "You've seen what this sceptre could do, so it's not just my revenge that I would get but also power! I could just ask the souls to do whatever I want."

There was a manic gleam in Python's eyes, he was smiling widely. "Imagine, di Angelo, what I can do with this sceptre! I'm getting a lot of ideas now, seriously."

"You are far more evil than Nero." Nico glared at Python.

Python laughed. "Say all you want but there's nothing you can do about it. No one's going to save you from here and I already have an army of the dead-thanks to Nero-so maybe after my business with you, I will create an empire," Python started to ramble as he walked in circles excitedly. "Should I start with colonizing US? Ah, I should start first with the president of the United States. Right, right. Then everyone will tremble under me. Of course, I'll pick up your soul too, you are going to be my right hand man-"

"YOU ARE INSANE!" Nico shouted at him.

Python looked sharply at Nico. "What did you say?"

Will wanted to reach for Nico so badly. It felt like he was just in front of them, watching every scene unfold. He wanted to do something; yet, there was something that was pulling him away from Nico. Will wanted to scream but he couldn't.

When Will thought that everything was going to fade, at the last second, Nico looked over Python's shoulder and, as if he could see him, stared straight into Will's eyes.

"Sunshine, at all costs, stop him," Nico said to him

Python whipped around to look wherever Nico was looking at but seemed to find nothing. "Who are you talking to?"

Python's manic voice echoed as everything faded in gray.

Will's eyes snapped open and he gasped for breath as he sat up. He looked around and found he was sitting on a hospital bed inside a room. Next to him was Lou Ellen holding the paddles of a defibrillator, her eyes were wide and her cheeks were stained with tears.

"L-Lou?" Will was startled by the look on his friend's face.

Lou dropped the paddles and Will looked down at them briefly because if they broke that would be salary deduction-

"WILL!" Lou cried and hugged Will tightly to her chest.

"H-hey Lou, w-why are you crying?"

Lou pulled back and glared fiercely at Will. "Why am I crying? You just _died_ , William! I thought-I thought I couldn't save you anymore. I-it's been 4 minutes and you didn't have a heartbeat and Cecil already called a doctor and he's taking too long and I thought you really died!" Lou cried harder. "We saw you passed out on the floor-" her voice cracked, stopping her from speaking. She covered her face with her hands and cried.

"H-Hey." Will stood up and hugged Lou to comfort his friend. "I'm so sorry that I scared and worried the hell out of you. But hey, good news. I'm back and alive!"

Lou pulled away again, her face was red and stained with tears. She sniffed. "But are you alright-"

"Yep! As you can see, I'm standing on my own two feet." Will spread his arms for good measure.

"But what happened-"

The door suddenly burst open.

"Here he is-!" Cecil shouted, running into the room. Dr. Fletcher was in tow but then he froze when he saw Will.

"What the hell, man? I thought he was dying," Lee Fletcher said annoyed.

"B-but..." Cecil was speechless.

"I'm good," Will said to them. "Thanks for, uh, dropping by and offering your help."

Lee Fletcher glared at Cecil. "You interrupted my one-hour long precious sleep, Cecil. You know that's unforgivable, right?"

Cecil bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

Lee Fletcher shook his head and walked out. When he was gone, Cecil closed the door behind him. "Explain."

"I really wish I could but I can't do that right now because-"

"You have something to do first?" Lou interrupted him, frustrated. "Seriously, Will? What's going on? Are you ill? Are you in danger?"

"Not me, Nico," Will said, dread starting to pool in the pit of his stomach.

"Nico's ill?" Cecil frowned.

"No, he's in danger."

"What? How?" Lou asked, concerned.

Will took a deep breath. "I really have to go-"

"And march alone to wherever Nico is and save his ass but get killed in the process? Nah-uh. Not gonna happen, buddy." Cecil interrupted.

Will took another deep breath. "Listen guys, I have to do this because I think I'm the only one who can stop him."

"Who?" they asked in unison.

"Just call the police for me, yeah?" Will said, changing the subject. "I'll write down the address for where they should go. Tell them that Nico has been captured by a bad guy."

"But-"

"Please, just trust me on this. I won't die this time." _Probably_ , Will added as an afterthought.

* * *

Will emerged from JHH, still wearing a surgeon's scrub over a gray cardigan he borrowed from Cecil. He had no time to change clothes when Nico's life was in danger. He stood at the sidewalk ready to flag down a cab when a royal blue Volvo stopped in front of him.

Wait, he knew that car.

The passenger's side window rolled down. His father, Apollo, was in the driver seat, and beside him was Detective Percy Jackson. The window from the backseat also rolled down, revealing Detective Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano and Jason Grace.

"Dad? What are you-"

"Get in," his dad commanded; his voice was unusually authoritative. "We know where Nico is."

"You know?" Will echoed dumbly.

"Yes, so just get in!"

Will obliged immediately as he opened the door to the back and climbed in. The Volvo zoomed off, the car manoeuvring through cars on the street.

He was supposed to be asking questions but it was kind of hard when he didn't know what to ask first.

"Uhm, what's going on?" Will decided for the much simpler question.

"That's the same thing we wanted to ask your father," Percy said, looking at the rearview mirror. "We were trying to find Nico earlier because we need his statement about the mysterious explosion in the Triumvirate Laboratories. He didn't answer his phone though so we couldn't reach him. Then your father came, telling us that Nico is in danger. He wouldn't give us any details. We don't even know why we're following him in the first place." Percy mumbled the last part

Will looked at his father. Apollo was quiet, which was odd for him. If there was one thing that his father and Will had in common, it was their sunny disposition.

"Dad?" Will called.

The Volvo swerved, entering an alleyway. They turned into several other unknown alleyways that Will didn't even know existed.

"Say Will, do you know how to manipulate your light powers?" Apollo asked, eyes on the road.

To say that Will was shocked was an understatement. He was frozen in his seat, his mind seemed to halt and unable to process what his father had just asked him.

The three detectives were watching the latter two silently.

"I mean, can you manipulate it to be a weapon or something like that?" Apollo continued casually as if he was talking about the weather outside. "Because it's going to be useful if-"

"Hold on a second." Will signalled for a time out as he shook his head, willing his brain to cooperate with him. "How did you know about _that_?" He glanced at the detectives sitting beside him.

Apollo laughed without any humour. "Of course I'd know, you're my son after all, and you inherited it from me."

"I did _WHAT_?" It was just then that Will realized, as he looked out the windshield, that everything outside was a blur-as if they were travelling through time and space. Will suddenly had a similar feeling when he and Nico shadow-travel. The only difference was, this was . . .brighter "W-where are we?"

"You just noticed? It's, uh, been happening for a while," Jason said.

"Traffic is murder, we'll never make it to our destination if we travel the usual route," Apollo said. Then suddenly the scenery shifted and became clearer; they were back on the streets "Here we are"

The car stopped.

Across from them was the blackened five-storey twin building where Will was captured by Python and where Nico had saved him almost a year ago. Now the situation was reversed because Will was sure that Nico was inside of that building captured by Python and here was Will-outside-trying his best to save him.

Apollo peered at the building from the window. It was dark outside as the night fell upon them. The only light source was from the blinking lamp post nearby. The street and the other surrounding streets were empty of people.

"The mist will cover all of us from mortals so we should be good to strike back from here," Apollo said.

Before Will could ask, Apollo climbed out of the car, the three detectives following suit, which left Will with no choice but to follow as well. He was starting to get frustrated by the fact that he was confused and he still had no idea what on earth was going on with his dad. And then there was also another fact that he went to this place unprepared. Like how in gods' name was he going to save Nico? Was he just going to march in and confront Python?

"Is Nico here?" Reyna asked.

"On the rooftop." Apollo glanced up.

"We've been waiting for you for ages!" They looked at the direction of the voice and from the corner of the street, two figures in black emerged. It was Bob Iapetus and Bianca di Angelo. Bianca was armed with an onyx black bow and quiver of arrows while Bob was carrying a Stygian Iron sword.

Apollo snorted. "Don't tell me you're the reinforcement that Hades sent?"

Bianca and Bob seemed to bow in respect when they saw Apollo. "With all due respect, Lord Apollo, don't underestimate our strength."

"But, uh, are we getting ourselves into some sort of war?" Jason asked, gazing at the weapons that the death angels were carrying. "Not to mention this place feels eerily weird and out of place."

"Agreed. This place seems...off." Percy looked around.

It was rare for Will, but he was starting to lose his patience. "For once, Dad! Can you tell us what's going on here? I hate wasting my time right now because as you have said before, Nico is in danger and who knows what's happening to him!"

Will's loud voice must have stirred something inside because a rumbling sound echoed out through the building. Instinctively, the three detectives pulled out their guns.

"W-What's that?" Will stammered, looking at the building.

"That, my dear friend, are our enemies." Bob readied his sword.

"Enemies...as in plural?" Percy asked.

As if on cue, a figure emerged from the entrance of the building, standing tall in black clothes. But when Will squinted his eyes, he realized that it was just a human figure made of black smoke. He glimmered against the scarce light of the lamp post nearby and then suddenly, a whole bunch more figures, shimmering in black, started to come out from the building.

Hundreds of them.

"Guns won't work on them, will they?" Jason stared at the armies of the dead.

"Nope." Bianca stood alongside Will as she nocked an arrow in her bow.

"What are they?" Will asked.

"Dead souls who can't go to the Underworld anymore because they lost their essence," Bob said on the other side of Will.

"And we must kill them before they kill us," Bianca said. "Because I'm sure as hell that's what Python commanded them to do."

"Python," Apollo said, irritated. His mouth formed in a thin line. "I love that guy so much." Then he started to glow, much brighter than Will had ever achieved with his own light power. The light surrounding him started to morph into something and it turned into a golden quiver full of arrows and bow, almost identical to what Bianca was holding.

"Dad?" Will was getting tired of being this dumb.

"Can you do what I've done?" Apollo asked his son.

Will shook his head.

"As I've thought, you're more on the healing side." Apollo nodded slinging across his back the golden quiver. "Non-violent side, per-say. So just command the dead to back away and head straight to Nico, we're going to take care of everything down here because I believe your own battle is waiting for you on the rooftop."

"We're going to take care of this?" Percy asked, flabbergasted. He started to shake his head. "This isn't in my job description."

"Man, it's not like it's your first time to see something bizarre like this," Jason said. "We just encountered a _cynocephali_ last month."

"This still isn't in my job description," Percy muttered.

"Just treat this as a monthly thing, you know."Jason shrugged putting back his gun on his holster vest. He produced a coin from his pocket, then he flipped it, and it turned into a golden sword. He caught it in mid-air.

Will's mouth hung open.

Percy was still shaking his head as he also put away his gun and produced a pen out of his own pocket. He uncapped it and it turned into yet another sword, bronze in color. On the other hand, Reyna was now holding a golden javelin.

"I knew it!" Percy turned to Reyna. "You weren't just an average detective after all!"

"I could say the same thing to you," Reyna answered flipping the javelin in her hand as if it were a toy.

"Well, Will don't just stand there," Apollo said. "Do your thing!"

"My thing? Oh, y-yeah, right." Will's body started to glow, the small area around him scaring the darkness away and encasing him in a ball of light.

"Apparently, so is doc," Jason whistled.

Will looked at his father. "Dad, seriously, who are you?"

Apollo smiled. "Why, haven't you heard of the Greek myth about a god named Apollo? I am him." He looked ahead, nocking an arrow into his bow. "Well, I never told you because Naomi didn't want me to. She wanted you to have a life as normal as a demigod could have."

"Demigod." Will looked down at his glowing hand. "So that's what I am?"

"So are we," Percy waved his hand. "We're glad to meet another fellow demigod, doc."

"Okay, enough pleasantries," Apollo said looking ahead at the armies of the dead. "We have something to take care of. The dead are looking more agitated by the second. I wonder why they're not attacking us first."

"The passersby," Bianca said. "We surveyed the area earlier, and there were random people who happened to pass by this building. The dead were here long ago, and we believed Nero transported some of the dead here for safekeeping. Mortals cannot see them but, as not to attract attention, they don't attack unless provoked."

"Wait, you were here _already_? Nico was here all along and you didn't do _anything_?" Will turned to Bianca.

"You think I like standing here while my brother is up there, risking his life?" Bianca snapped at him. "I hate it. There are hundreds of dead inside that building and we're outnumbered. The whole building is enchanted so we can't just shadow travel onto the rooftop. The only way is the stairs inside but it's too heavily guarded and the only way we can defeat all of them is to get help from a god."

"Yeah, yeah, that's my job. That's why I'm here," Apollo said unenthusiastically as he raised his bow towards the dead. "But my powers are, uh, limited because I'm living as a mortal right now. I need your assistance."

"We're ready." Reyna stood in a fighting stance, her javelin in hand. Jason, Percy, Bob, and Bianca did the same.

"What's the plan?" Jason asked.

"Simple. Destroy all of them," Apollo said. "Will needs to go to the rooftop. You can handle that son, right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Son, 'Yeah, I think so' will not save you from an impending battle."

"Fine! Okay, I can do it!"

"You need to command Python to get out of Bryce's body and I'll handle the rest from there," Apollo said

"Yeah, I figured the same thing. . ." Will answered

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. It's showtime." Apollo released the golden arrow and it multiplied into ten. They exploded into golden dust when they made contact with the dead, extinguishing several of them at once.

The dead charged at them.

And with a loud battle cry, so did Apollo and his gang.

The clash of the dead and the living had begun.

* * *

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	55. LIII - WILL

**LIII**

 **WILL**

Lightning zapped all around, briefly illuminating the night sky. It was followed by thunder that reverberated throughout the abandoned building, rain pouring incessantly along with it. Most people of Manhattan might think that it was just ordinary bad weather but Will Solace knew better. The sudden rainfall was caused by his friends and fellow demigods, Percy Jackson and Jason Grace. Nobody was even aware of the raging battle happening inside that building. Others might have been having a normal night but for a few certain people, it was a night they were fighting for their lives as well as a bit of world peace.

Will Solace, who was glowing like a bright sun, climbed two steps at a time towards the third floor of the building. Scaling the first two floors was already hard when dozens of the dead were stopping him from going all the way up. There were brief moments where he wondered how he ended up in this kind of situation when he's just a doctor who heals and who just wants to be with the person he truly loved the most. Now, he's like a soldier on duty and as Percy put it, it wasn't on his job description.

He paused on the third floor so he could catch his breath. As expected, another dozen of the dead were waiting for him there.

Will spoke his magic words "Stay back."

Immediately, almost all the dead souls froze. But there were few souls who were stubborn; annoying, and who seemed to be resisting Will's voice, so some of them continued to attack Will regardless of the command, which Will found problematic.

Hitting the dead felt the same as hitting a human being. Despite being made of seemingly black smoke, their bodies were solid and they retaliated back as if they were all experts on a battlefield. Will, on the other hand, was definitely _not_ an expert on a battlefield. As his father stated a while back, he was more on the non-violent side, so Will didn't know how long his limited knowledge on fighting would save him. He wasn't some doctor turned into a comic superhero for gods' sake! He was thankful though, for his light powers. If not for the light he emitted that kept the dead at bay, the dead might have devoured him long before the battle had even started.

He had finally shoved the dead aside when he saw another problem up ahead: the skybridge connected to the other building.

Fortunately, Jason, Reyna, and Bob reached the same floor, a little bit farther from him. Unlike Will, they were warriors on the field, fighting side by side. Will had no idea how they could see through the dark and still fight when their only source of light was Will's light glow, which didn't reach that far, and the occasional lightning, courtesy of Jason.

"Which way?" Will shouted to no one in particular as his light pulsated, throwing away a row of dead coming his way. He ducked down to avoid another dead from attacking him.

Apollo had told them that Nico was on the rooftop, but the problem was, his father hadn't specifically said on which rooftop because technically the whole building was made of two towers being connected by the skybridge. Nico might be on the other side of the building for all he knew.

Jason came to his aid, slashing and extinguishing another wave of dead surging towards Will. His sword literally sparked with lightning.

"I don't know which way to go," Will said when Jason stopped beside him. "There's a skybridge connecting both buildings so Nico might be there instead of above us."

"Percy, Apollo, and Bianca will be going to the other building. Just continue on your way towards the top. If Nico isn't there, Apollo and the others will be rescuing him on the other side." Jason slashed another dead, sending it to the ground. "Damn, this whole place is so heavily guarded by a spell that I can't even fly. It would be easier if we could just fly towards the rooftop."

"You can fly?" Will asked as he concentrated on his light, and the dead backed off immediately.

"Oh yeah, like a blond superman."

Will whistled, impressed.

"Go on now, doc. I'll hold the dead back for you and we'll follow you immediately after to help out," Jason said.

Will nodded. "Thanks, man," he said before taking off running toward the stairs. He was in the middle of climbing up another set of stairs when his light illuminated something on the floor that made him pause.

Not too far from him, a familiar bracelet was lying on the floor. He picked it up and examined it. It was the braided cord bracelet he gave to Nico when they were on the helipad of JHH. Will looked up at the darkened path ahead. Nico was on the rooftop of this building for sure. He pocketed the bracelet and with a determined look on his face, he continued on his way, his light bursting like a supernova.

Call it adrenaline, luck, or whatever you want to call it, but Will made it to the top of the 5th floor of the building without much of a hassle from the dead. They pretty much backed away when they saw the blinding light coming from Will. He stopped at the foot of the staircase going to the rooftop to catch his breath.

 _I'm coming, Nico._

Suddenly, he heard a loud BANG come from the rooftop. Will was momentarily frozen to his spot, his heartbeat drumming on his ribcage.

"N-Nico?" Will clenched his fist. No. He couldn't afford to lose Nico again. They went through so much trouble just to be together. He loved Nico too much for him to ever allow them to be separated again.

Will continued up the final set of stairs towards Nico.

Will yanked the rooftop door open. The rain seemed to stop a while back as a gust of wind greeted him.

Ahead of Will, Bryce and Nico were standing in a face-off, both drenched from the rain. Everything around them was a wreck. An emergency lamp was lying on its side, though it still seemed to be working, and there was a broken chair nearby. Wooden boards and steel pipe poles were all broken apart, littering the wet concrete floor.

Nico was holding his Stygian Iron Sword while Bryce was holding a long steel pipe. Behind Nico was a long ivory staff lying on the floor, which Nico seemed to be protecting from the latter. For a moment, both of them were stunned to see another presence on the rooftop.

Nico was the first to recover. Will winced, and a sudden anger erupted in him as he caught the state of Nico's face, which was heavily bruised and bloodied, one of his eyes swelling. Nonetheless Nico grinned at him through the pain. "Hey, sunshine. It's nice of you to join the party."

Bryce growled as he spat the blood forming on his mouth. His face was the same as Nico's, bruised and bloodied. There was a cut on Bryce's left cheek; blood also trickled down from the cut. Bryce's shirt was torn at the chest, showing another slashed wound. Though Bryce seemed to not care about the injury as he continued to glare at Will. "Great, another one to kill."

"Nah-uh." Nico slashed the air with his sword, a menacing growl escaping his throat. "So help me gods, if you touch him. . ."

Bryce smirked maliciously and stared at Will. "Oh, someone special, eh?"

Nico's eyes narrowed at him as his mouth formed a thin line. "Don't you dare."

In that moment, Bryce knew what would hurt Nico the most. Bryce charged at Will, and Nico's eyes widen.

But Will was prepared as his light pulsated with life. "Python, stop."

Immediately, Bryce froze on the spot, his eyes wide.

Will stepped forward, tendrils of light curling around him as if trying to reach Bryce. Bryce, meanwhile, was trembling in an effort to fight Will's power.

"W-What is this?" Bryce questioned, his eyes narrowing at Will.

"Despite being dead, you still want to be with the living, and that's why I have power over you," Will said, inching towards Nico. "Now, I am commanding you to let Bryce's body go."

"No!" Bryce growled, black smoke emanating from his body. He was making a big effort of stepping towards them.

Will frowned. "He's a tough one."

Nico snorted beside him, his sword still held in a defensive position, ready for anything. "Obviously."

Will decided to change tactic. He spoke "Agatha Lawrence,"

Bryce became still again.

"I'm speaking to the real Bryce Lawrence now," Will said. "I know you're still in there; your soul is trapped in there somewhere. I know you want to be with your sister really badly because you love her so much. . ."

Bryce blinked. For a moment, his eyes seemed to shift. It wasn't angry or animalistic. "Help," he tried to say, but a sudden growl escaped him as he clutched his head. "No! You are gone!" Tendrils of black smoke curled around his body, and his voice changed into the pleading one as before. "Too late! Kill me-no!" He staggered backward.

Will and Nico looked at each other, not knowing what to make of it.

Will returned his attention to Bryce. He stepped towards him and exhaled. "Python, let him go."

"No! THIS IS MY BODY NOW!" Python roared at Will as he steadied himself on his two feet.

"No, it's not." Will's voice was calm but there was a determination in it. "You are dead, Python. Accept it. Bryce, fight Python inside you, please, for your sister." Will took another step towards him, his hand outstretched to him. Light curled around his hand; it was like a vine trying to reach out to the sun-but the sun wasn't a sun, it was Bryce.

Bryce stared at Will with glassy and unfocused eyes. He shook his head. "He'll kill all of us so stop me now before it's too late. Tell Agatha I love her and I'm so sorry."

"No," Will murmured, stepping forward once again, his arm still outstretched to Bryce. "Bryce-"

Bryce closed his eyes and went still for a moment.

"W-Will," Nico called out uncertainly.

"No, Bryce." Will walked towards Bryce, determined.

Bryce's eyes snapped opened. But they weren't his eyes; they were Python's. Hunger for bloodlust was swirling in his eyes. Python looked at Will "Die."

With the pipe pole in hand, Python charged at Will who was rooted to his spot.

Nico leaped in action, shoving Will out of the way. The blond staggered sideways, hitting the disarray stacks of wooden boards and poles beside him. Nico intercepted the pole with his sword, and with all his strength, he drove Python towards the corner of the rooftop.

"Will, the sceptre! Crush the orb now!"

Will was partially wet on his side when he hit the concrete floor, but he managed to grasp the stack of boards for support. He shook his head, regaining his senses. Nico had said something to him, something about a sceptre and crushing an orb. Will glanced to his side where the said sceptre was lying on the floor with its orb glowing bright purple.

 _Right. Crush it._

Will stood up and was about to go to the sceptre when a loud cry stopped him. He looked over to where it came from, finding Nico lying on his side on the floor holding, his bleeding thigh. Bryce was holding a knife in his hand.

"Nico!"

"Don't mind me! Get the sceptre!"

Python barrelled towards Will, but Nico somehow vanished and reappeared in front of Bryce, pushing him away from Will.

"Gods of Olympus, Will! Get the sceptre!" Nico shouted as he punched Bryce in the face.

Will ran towards the sceptre and picked it up before swinging it at the nearest cement post, smashing the glowing purple orb to pieces.

"No!" Bryce bellowed.

Several things happened at once as Will dropped the orb-less sceptre. A gush of wind sent him staggering back a few steps, though he fortunately didn't fall. Unfortunately, it knocked the breath out of him so he had to rest with his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath back. There was also a sound of an explosion in the air as a purple barrier appeared above them, crackling and then all of a sudden disappearing. Jason and Reyna finally made it to the rooftop too, bursting through the open door.

Unknown to them, floors below, the remaining dead disappeared in thin air, confusing Percy and the rest of the gang momentarily. Apollo looked at the window and turned around. "Cover your eyes!" he yelled before vanishing in a burst of light. Bianca and Bob also disappeared in black smoke a moment later, leaving Percy alone at the bottom of the building.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Bryce went berserk, and with his enraged energy, he grabbed Nico and threw him to the side. Nico flew in the air, hitting his back on the nearby wall as he landed. He cried out from the force of the impact. Bryce came thundering towards Will, sending Reyna and Jason into a battle of three as they tried to intercept him. Will saw Nico slipping out of consciousness out of the corner of his eye, though Nico still managed to look up at Will. Their eyes locked as Will strode towards him.

Reyna and Jason were thrown off as well, both groaning when they hit the floor. Will made a mistake of stopping and turning to look at Python, who was staring back at him with an evil smirk plastered on his lips. Apollo appeared on the rooftop with Bianca and Bob. The sun god nocked an arrow into his bow and aimed it at Python as the two death angels stood on either side of him in defensive positions.

Sometime in the fight, Python had managed to get the gun from Jason's holster vest and was now aiming it at Will's chest.

Nico's eyes widen, and despite his blurry vision, he knew what was about to happen. A single tear slid down his cheek as his eyes switched from the gun to Will. "No," he whispered, trying his best to get up.

Apollo released the arrow at the same moment that Python pulled the trigger.

 _BANG!_

The golden arrow hit Python directly in the chest and the gun dropped to the ground. There was still a manic gleam in his eyes as his long last revenge was accomplished. He might not be able to kill Nico in the end but Python managed to give Nico a final blow worse than killing him physically. Python fell limply to the floor, lifeless.

Will blinked and staggered back, looking down at his chest that was now scarlet red. At first he thought that it didn't seem right because his scrub shirt was light blue in color so how had it become red. . . it took another moment for Will to process what had just happened.

 _It's my blood,_ he thought to himself, _that's why it's red._

Funny how he was still faintly glowing even though his lifeforce was slowly dying. Would he be able to command his own soul to stay in his body? He wanted to live, too, you know. He reached up to touch the blood to make sure it was really there and not a figment of his imagination before he dropped to his knees.

Everything around him seemed to be in slow motion and muted as his father ran towards him, a frantic, scared, and angry expression on his face. He seemed to be shouting something.

Will then remembered someone. That someone appeared at his side, catching him as he fell to the floor. He seemed to appear out of thin air, which Will thought was pretty cool in his delirious state. He looked at that someone and faintly smiled at the angel's ever handsome face.

The angel touched Will's cheek, his hand cool and pleasant, as tears welled up in his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and streamed down his pale and bruised cheeks. Will's eyesight started to blur and darken.

 _No, please! I still want to see his face._

Will Solace knew by heart that he couldn't cheat death all the time. He avoided death once last year, then twice just earlier when his friend had managed to revive him back to life. He should have known that he couldn't avoid it a third time.

It was funny to think that his life seemed tied to this place; this cursed place that seemed to rob him of his life every time he was here. Finally, this time, it was succeeding.

From a certain rooftop in Manhattan, a beam of light exploded upward towards the sky, cutting through the darkness. It was tendrils mixed of gold and onyx black.

Most people would think that it was just ordinary lightning or thunder. But unknown to them, the bright and blinding light actually came from the rage of a god who was losing his son and agony of a death angel who was losing his solace.

* * *

 **I am running to the hills. bye!**

 **Thanks for reading and subscribing!**

 **Please review, and uh, okay, i understand if some of you are going to throw a fit.**

 **~Nikki**


	56. LIV - NICO

**LIV**

 **NICO**

When Nico di Angelo was still a death angel, he remembered swearing that nothing could ever surprise or scare the living daylights out of him. Because, after all, he had been in the mortal world for a very, very long time that he thought he had seen it all. Although, he still had faith in the good of humanity, he was also aware of the destruction that a human mind could conduct. The cruelties, the nightmares, the selfishness-the list goes on and on. It's all out there in the small blue vulnerable planet they call Earth. That's why, Nico got a little bit cocky on the idea that he wouldn't be caught off-guard anymore.

Of course, that hadn't been the case when he freaking met Will Solace. It always started with that blond, the roller coaster of emotions, the unexpected shenanigans, and all other things that made him question his still stable sanity. Nico was sure that he already lost it when the blond was in his arms, eyes closed and bleeding to death.

Nico was looking fiercely at the sun god kneeling on the other side of Will. The death angel's eyes were welling up with tears. "You're a god! Heal him, Apollo!"

Apollo looked distraught. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He was visibly shaking in an effort to calm himself. He then looked squarely into Nico's eyes. "I-I can't. He's not here anymore and you know it." Apollo gave him a meaningful look.

"Hold him for me," Nico said quietly and Apollo obliged.

That's when Nico disappeared. He dissolved in a black mass like black hole. The remaining black mass turned into black tendrils and sailed towards the sky. Apollo shut his eyes as he kissed Will's forehead before throwing his head back and screaming. He burst into light, creating a golden light beam that also shot up towards the sky. Percy, Jason, and Bob had to shield their eyes away from the blinding light. That's when Bob noticed that Bianca di Angelo had also disappeared from his side.

After a long while, Nico set foot again on the grounds of the Underworld. He was already inside the Palace of Hades so he ran through the long, dark, and narrow corridor towards his destination. The sounds of his steps echoed through the black marbled floor. The walls of the hallway were obsidian black. Torches lined the walls and were lit by green flames.

Nico squinted his eyes as he saw a figure far ahead. He slowed down as he came to a pause. Not far from him, a familiar mop of blond hair in blue surgeon's scrubs was already looking at him. His head was tilted to the side as if confused by what was happening.

Nico started to run again towards Will Solace. Then he tackled the blond into a hug, a hug so tight that might break a few rib cages. He buried his face into the blond's chest.

"I-I don't understand. Where are we?" Will spoke quietly returning the hug. "I thought I was dead. . ."

Nico pulled away and looked up at Will. It was painful to look at him when they were in this kind of situation. When it might be only one of them could return back to the land of the living. Nico exhaled as he held Will's hand. "You are. This is the Underworld or the afterlife."

"Oh. . ."

Silence.

"Nico, it's fine-"

"Well, it isn't for me!" Nico shouted, his voice ringing through the hallway. He exhaled again looking into Will's eyes. "Listen. We're gonna make this work. If you are here instead of being in the Court of Judgement, then something is up."

"You're still not making any sense."

"If you are here, it only means that father wants to see us. . ."

"Father?"

"Yeah, Hades, God of the Underworld."

Will stared at Nico.

"What? You are not the only one who's allowed to have a father who's a god. Come on. We're gonna do some renegotiations." Nico tugged Will's hand and they started walking.

"How long did you know that my dad was a god?" Will asked.

"Just earlier, when hell broke loose." Nico said.

"Oh. . ."

Another silence.

"Seriously, Nico I totally accept that I'm dead and-"

"Well, I refuse to accept that."

Will stopped walking and so did Nico. Will looked exasperated. "Nico, if there's one thing I learned about this whole thing, we cannot escape death. That's where we all go in the end, some people just reach it early and there's nothing we can do about that-"

"Why is it so easy for you to say that?" Nico exclaimed. "Do you really want to leave me and the other people who care about you? Don't you care how I feel when you say something like that?"

"Gods no, Nico-"

"Then stop acting like you already chose death over me-"

"Because I'm goddamn dead for gods' sake!" Will's voice raised. "I am preparing myself for the worst. I am freaking out right now because this came all too suddenly and I wasn't able to say goodbye to my family or friends and the thought that I'm not going to see them literally forever-" Will inhaled and exhaled. "It's just. . . this is not easy for me! Who wants to die anyway?"

Nico was about to open his mouth to say something when he sensed a presence nearby.

"Wow. How could you be in an argument _and_ hold hands at the same time?"

Will and Nico turned their heads toward the direction of the voice. Not far away from them, Bianca di Angelo was smirking at them, her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing a simple black dress and a black Greek style sandals, completely different to the combat attire she usually wore. Her hair was braided over one shoulder. She walked towards them.

"Your voices can be heard all the way to the Fields of Asphodels, you know."

Nico was rooted to his spot. "Bianca. . ."

Bianca smiled warmly at him as she reached them. "Hi, brother dear, it's nice to see you again."

It was Will's cue to let go of Nico's hand. Nico threw himself at his sister, who hugged him back just as fiercely.

Bianca rubbed Nico's back comfortingly. "Good job, you did right there. You never failed to amaze us."

Nico pulled away. "I didn't do all the work. Other people helped, like Will. . ." he turned to look at Will.

"Ah, good ol' Will Solace." Bianca gave him a smirk. "How is it going for you?"

"You might not notice it but I'm dead. Yay."

"I see, still fluent in sarcasm until death."

"Of course, can't risk being rusty on it, comes in handy at times."

Nico looked back and forth between his sister and Will.

Bianca just rolled her eyes and regarded Nico. "Anyway, you wanted to talk to father, right? I shouldn't keep you from it." Bianca stepped to the side and she extended her arm as if saying that they should go.

Nico didn't realize that the doors to the throne of Hades were actually quite close by. Nico looked at Bianca. "Will I be able to talk to you after this?"

Bianca smiled at him. "We'll make a date for that. Now go."

Nico reached for Will's hand again as they walked towards the throne of Hades.

Nico was about to push the door open when he paused and looked up at Will. "What's with you and my sister?"

Will shrugged. "Just take it as a form of camaraderie."

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Your sister hates me," Will relented.

Nico pushed the door open and they stepped inside.

"Why do we need to talk to your father again?" Will looked at Nico as they walked towards the throne

"I told you, we're going to renegotiate."

"Renegotiate for what?"

This time it was Nico who looked exasperated. "Renegotiate for your death, dummy. Come on."

As Nico looked at the throne, where he was sure that his father Lord Hades was waiting, he frowned. Lord Hades stood up from his throne wearing a black pinstripe suit and gray tie. His shoulder length hair was combed and gelled back, and he was also in his regular height that Hades would certainly pass as a mortal.

"Does the god of the Underworld usually look like he's going to the premiere night of a movie?" Will whispered to Nico.

"Not usually. . ." Nico answered.

"Lord Hades," Nico said as he stepped forward and bowed in respect. Will also bowed but rather more awkwardly.

"Nico." Hades regarded him and looked at Will. "So, I finally meet _the_ Will Solace, the reason why my son made a record of breaking all the rules of Underworld and would do it again without hesitation."

Will looked back uncertainly at Nico.

"Father-"

Hades raised his hand, and Nico clamped his mouth shut. The Lord of Underworld stepped off his throne, his hands clasped behind his back. "I've been watching you, son of Apollo, for a long time and I still don't understand why my son took a great liking to you."

"Oh, come on. This isn't the part where you're going to embarrass me in front of him, is it?" Nico muttered.

"Isn't that what regular mortal parents do?" Hades raised an eyebrow at Nico.

"But you're a god, not a mortal." Nico pointed out.

"Fair point" Hades stopped in front of them.

"Look, father, we are here to renegotiate Will's death. He is coming back with me to the land of the living," Nico continued.

Hades tilted his head to the side, eyeing his son. "And what makes you think both of you are going back?"

"What, you're going to imprison us here?" This time it was Nico who raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, I've already prepared a chamber for you here."

"I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"I could say the same thing to you, son."

Nico exhaled. "Father, I've accomplished the job for you. This is what you planned all along, right? You brought me back to the mortal world because of Nero and that stupid sceptre and I wouldn't be able to do all of that without the help of Will." He pointed at Will. "And he died because of me, at my expense, because of Python's revenge for me."

"And that revenge wouldn't have happened if you hadn't killed him in the first place."

"He was going to kill a lot of people if I hadn't of done that. I know you knew what a lunatic he was. You knew what he was planning with the sceptre. And by all the gods, I hope you gave Python the worst punishment of all or I swear, I'm going to the Fields of Punishment myself-"

"He's gone."

"Gone?" Nico frowned. "As in _gone_ gone?"

Hades turned around and vanished in black smoke, he reappeared on his throne and sat down. "Apollo wouldn't just let it pass after what happened to his son, so he vanished Python's existence, which he should have done millennia ago. I am quite amazed that Python kept up his existence for a very long time. He kept on being reborn and influencing mortals' minds. Then of course, Apollo got enraged and extinguished him for good. I also believe that Apollo is close to barging into the Underworld because of his rage that also extends towards me. I have his son involved in this, after all."

Nico remained silent.

"But then again, I didn't expect Python would kill Will Solace instead of you, Nico. Everything just spiralled out of control. If it had been you, Nico, things would have been easier; you would've been resurrected back as a death angel or you would've been my right hand man on the throne. But unfortunately, it was William Solace instead."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked.

"It wasn't on the plan to get Will Solace killed," Hades answered. "It's an entire different matter when a mortal death is involved."

"But he's a demigod!"

"He's still part mortal."

"And you're point is?"

"Son, there are laws of death here. You know how strict I am when it comes to the rules. No exception to it even if it involves my own children."

"Okay, yeah, I get that my memories of Will before will not return anymore as punishment, but what about him? He needs to go back with me to the land of the living! He has family and friends waiting for him there."

"So are the countless of souls who arrived here," Hades countered. "Will Solace isn't the only one who had a sudden death. He can't be an exception."

"Father, he wouldn't have died in the first place if not because of your plan."

"So are you blaming me for it?"

"No," Nico sighed. "It's not that. What I want to say is, let's be accountable for the actions we've done. You see, it's not just Will but also this mortal Kayla Knowles who's in the hospital because of me yet again."

A thunder like sound echoed through the throne. Nico concluded that he pushed it too far with the god but he wasn't going to back down on this either, even if he got incinerated to dust on the spot.

"Well, what do you want? Hades said quietly. "You know there are two ways whereas a soul could go back to the living, it's either being reborn or being a death angel."

"Being reborn means he's going to start his life all over again in another body and who knows who it could be," Nico countered. "And being a death angel means his mortal memories and emotions would be wiped out. That's not the answer that I want. I want him to go back as a whole, as Dr. William Solace whom I goddamn fell in love with."

Silence.

"That's a surprise." Hades threw his hands in the air. "It's not everyday that Nico di Angelo would be openly vocal on how he truly feels."

Nico was silent, though he stared defiantly at Hades.

"But no matter how much you declare your undying love-no pun intended-it still won't change the fact that Will Solace is dead and you are refusing the only two ways he could go back to the land of the living."

"But you are a god! Can't you make exceptions?" Nico's tone was almost pleading.

"Why do you think Orpheus was the only one who made it out alive and escaped the underworld?" Hades stood up. "Because I don't make exceptions, Nico di Angelo. Why do you think you and your sister became death angels? Because I wanted the both of you to have another chance at living. Did I break any rules just for my children to be in the living again? No. So, tell me, why do I need to break rules for a demigod, Will Solace? Death has always a high price to pay and sometimes, that price comes in a form of chaos. If I always do that every time someone is going to die, I am constantly breaking the natural laws of death and that's not something you want to mess with. Just because I am a god doesn't mean I can always interfere with the Fates. You, Nico, of all people should know what it's like to interfere with the Fates. You did it once."

Nico felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to Will who was smiling sadly at him. "Nico, I understand it, you know, death is death. There were battles we couldn't win, same as there are people I couldn't save. It's all right." Will wiped off the tears that slid down Nico's cheeks that Nico hadn't noticed, until Will wiped them away. "Maybe, I can be with my mom now, so that's a consolation, and somehow, there's a part of me that was glad that I was the one who got shot instead of you. I don't think I could handle it, seeing you taken away from me for a second time."

"And what about me?" Nico asked, looking away. "Do you think I can handle it without you?"

Will cradled both sides of Nico's face in his hands and turned it to look at him. "Hey, it's all right. Even if it's not, we have to be okay with it because that's how everything goes whether we like it or not."

Nico bowed his head as his world, as well as his heart, crumbled right there and then.

He truly was losing his solace.

* * *

 **Next update will be the epilogue which i split into two parts. But don't worry, I'm going to post all of them at once. It shouldn't be that long for the epilogues to be posted.**

 **Stay tuned for the last update of The Clash of the Dead and Living!**

 **What do you think will happen to our couple? Please review!**

 **Thank you for subscribing and reading!**


	57. EPILOGUE

**EPILOGUE**

 _ **5 years later. . .**_

"Di Angelo! You have to park at least a block away from the scene or you won't be able to get in there." A police officer informed him as Nico di Angelo rolled down the window of his car to poke his head out of the window and check the traffic that seemed not to move like forever.

Nico looked at the police officer at the sidewalk. "Good Morning, Officer Hedge, and thanks!"

"Yeah, no problem. Also, you're late. Detective Spielberg is there and is going to kill you."

Nico winced. He didn't have to be reminded of his impending doom. He rolled up the window and manoeuvred out of the road and went in alley instead.

When he successfully parked, he started to walk, cutting through the crowded street of Manhattan. He was wearing a navy blue long sleeve shirt with a white collared button down shirt underneath. It was partnered with a gray coat, that seemed to have a stain of mustard sauce on the sleeves, black jeans, and black converse. Slung on his shoulder was a strap holding a gray metal case.

He finally reached a corner and went around it. He cursed as he saw a mob of people gathered ahead. Detective Spielberg was definitely going to kill him.

"Excuse me, CSI. Coming through." Nico squeezed in through the crowd until he was able to cross the yellow cordon set up by the police that cornered the jewellery shop. The glass windows and door were smashed to pieces. Police officers were patrolling around the area. Not far away from where he stood, a police car was parked. A man with his hands handcuffed was standing before the door of the car, three police officers guarding him. Nico cursed some more, if the robber was already arrested, he's really freaking late. He went inside the shop.

He saw Jason, and the blond detective immediately went to him.

"I'm so sorry," Nico said to him. "Riley's school bus left her so I had to drop her off at school first."

Jason looked at him with sympathy. "Man, hard to be a single dad right now isn't it? Just don't let Detective Spielberg see you just yet, he was barking up for a CSI earlier. When no one showed up, he was ready to spit fire at anyone in his line of sight. But don't worry, I got you covered."

"Shit." Nico knelt down at the corner, put the case down, and opened it. "Thanks, man. I owe you again."

"Don't sweat it." Jason crouched down beside him as Nico put on a set of latex gloves. "Hey, listen. You know, you can always count on us, right? I know it's hard for you right now with Riley, raising a kid all alone, so you can always count on us being there for Riley, too, okay? If not Piper and me, Annabeth and Percy are there. They are quite worried about you and Riley."

"Jason." Nico looked at him as he finished putting on his gloves. "Thanks, I really appreciate it, but I can manage. I'll definitely call all of you when desperate times come. Hopefully it never happens." Nico exhaled as he stood up. "So what's the play here?"

Jason stood up too. "Oh the usual, before the shop could open for business a robber came in, broke the place and the police apprehended him."

"Why are you here, by the way? Are there any drugs or syndicates involved here?" Nico frowned as he noticed the mud footprints on the carpet floor. He walked back to his case to get a pair of tweezers and a sealable plastic bag

"Well, I thought the robber was part of the syndicate I'm currently investigating but turns out he's just a small time robber." Jason shrugged.

Nico went back to where the footprints were and knelt down. He moved his face closer to the floor to inspect the mud footprints. He picked up the excess mud on the floor with his tweezers and sniffed the mud. "So I take it that the robber came from a farmhouse because I can smell cow manure here. The shop hadn't opened yet so it's impossible that this came from a customer unless one of the employees came from a farm before coming here. . ." He put the tweezers in the sealable plastic bag.

Jason answered. "Nah, the only person present when the crime happened is the store owner and he just lives upstairs."

"So it's definitely from the robber." Nico stood up but still looked down at the footprints. "And another strange thing is, I am seeing two sets of different footprints here and only one robber is present. Where is the other one?"

"But the footage showed only one robber-" Jason was cut off by a commotion outside.

"Shit," Jason cursed as he ran outside. Nico followed suit as he discarded his latex gloves. Outside the shop, the apprehended robber hit the police officers guarding him with a gun he probably stole. He was still handcuffed but he didn't seem to have any problems hitting the cops guarding him. There was a black pickup truck out front too. Jason tried to shoot the robber but the driver on the pickup truck was open firing at them so they had to duck for cover. Bystanders scrambled out of the way. Nico and Jason went their separate ways for cover. Nico was the unlucky one because he was closest to the apprehended robber who was currently getting away from the police.

Nico got out of his hiding spot behind a dumpster and took off after the robber. Nico got close enough to grab him when the robber just hit him in the face with the barrel of the gun. He stumbled backward and cursed some more. The robber jumped towards the opened back of the truck.

"Hey, you idiot!" Jason shouted at Nico. "Are you hurt?"

The pickup truck went zooming out the way, almost hitting a delivery man on a motorcycle. The motorcycle went off balance and the delivery man was thrown to the pavement.

"Nah, I'm fine." Nico touched the corner of his mouth with his thumb and it came back with blood on it. He sighed.

"Stop chasing the bad guys, you idiot, it's not in your job description." Jason scolded as he put down his gun. He cursed at the retreating figure of the truck.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU IDIOT COPS DOING?" Another detective barked at them. "ARE YOU ALL AMATEURS FOR LETTING A ROBBER GET AWAY?"

Jason winced at the sound of his voice. "Yep, Detective Spielberg is going to transform into a Minotaur at any moment. I should probably go see him."

"Yeah, sure, go ahead and calm the Minotaur down. I'm going to the lab to test the cow manure. We might get some clue from the compounds in it as to where their hideout is." Nico raised the sealed bag he was still holding.

"AND WHERE'S THE GODDAMN CSI? WHAT'S THE USE OF PRESERVING A CRIME SCENE WITHOUT A CSI?"

"Or you can make a short detour to the Minotaur first before going to the lab," Jason said.

"Great, being toasted is exactly what I need early in the morning," Nico sighed.

Another typical day for Nico.

* * *

The emergency room of Jupiter Half-Blood was busy as usual but not the kind of busy where it was packed with patients. Lou Ellen stood at the counter of the station looking at an intern doctor who was talking to a patient lying to the bed not far from her.

"What are you looking at?" Dr. Kayla Knowles put down the medical chart she was holding on the counter

"Look at Dr. Eaton." Lou pointed at the intern doctor. "Every time I see him, he reminds me of Will, you know. Same mop of blond hair and tanned skin."

"Oh great, you just successfully dampened my mood," Kayla said as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her lab coat as she looked at Dr. Eaton too. She leaned back at the counter. "But yeah, if not for the gray eyes, when his back is turned you could mistake him for Will. They have the same body structure too."

Lou Ellen looked down at the floor. "I miss him."

"Who doesn't?" Kayla sighed.

"You miss who?" Cecil Markowitz appeared on Lou Ellen's side.

Lou looked sadly at Cecil. "Will."

Cecil winced. "Oh man, his name is like a puncture wound in my heart. Why do you have to mention that?"

"Well, you asked for it," Lou retorted.

"I'm going ahead. I have a scheduled surgery, and now I feel like I have huge dark clouds hanging over my head as I perform the surgery" she said before walking away.

"You're not the only one who has dark clouds hanging over your head now," Lou said as she started to arrange the medical charts and stack them together.

"I miss him too you know," Cecil said. "It's been five-"

A paramedic shouted for attention. They were wheeling in a stretcher with a man on it. Lou immediately ran to them. The man seemed to be a delivery man wearing a white shirt over a yellow vest with a pizza parlor name on it. He already had a neck brace around his neck. He also seemed to be in his late forties. He was conscious, but seemed to be weak.

"Motorcycle accident," the paramedic reported as the patient was being transferred to a bed. "Suspected rib fracture and ankle sprain. Low blood pressure 80 over 60, so possible anaemia."

Lou Ellen nodded and the paramedics left. The nurse looked around for a doctor who could be in charge.

"Hey, Dr. Eaton!" Lou called. "Can you cover this patient?"

"Wait a sec," Dr. Eaton shouted back as he assisted a patient vomiting in a plastic bag.

"No need. I'll handle it," a voice said from behind Lou. Lou whipped around as her eyes widen by what she saw.

Will Solace strode towards them in his glorious light blue surgeon scrub and white lab coat.

"Patient's status?" Will asked as he bent over to check the patient's eyes with a small flashlight.

Lou was speechless for a moment and when Will looked back at her, she seemed to finally regain her senses as she shook her head.

"Motorcycle accident. Suspected rib fracture, ankle sprain, and low blood pressure 80 over 90," Lou informed. "When did you get back from Peru?"

"Just now," Will said as he stood straighter and gently patted the patient's ribs, making the patient wince. "Yep, rib fracture." Then he also patted the ankle that had an improvised brace on it. The patient jerked again at the touch. "And yep, ankle sprain. Call someone from the orthopaedic department."

"All right. Dr. Langley is available right now. I can page her here." Lou produced a phone and started tapping on it. She held the phone against her ear. "Does your husband know you're already here? You're a week earlier than your intended to return"

Will looked at her. "Nope, I'm being dramatic and wanted to surprise him. The medical mission got wrapped up earlier because of some sort of political conflict that I don't want to know about, so here I am." Will gazed back down at the patient as Lou talked to her phone. "Something's odd with you, Mister. . ." The blond doctor bent down again to look closely at the patient, Will's hand held the headboard for support while his other hand was on his hip. The patient was sweating in buckets and awfully pale. He also seemed to be having a hard time breathing. "Lou put him on an oxygen mask."

"Yeah, sure." Lou pocketed the phone and started to work on it.

"Hey, sir, can you hear me?" Will asked. The man nodded weakly, so the doctor continued and applied pressure on the man's stomach with his hand. "Does your stomach hurt right now?"

The man nodded briefly.

"How about your back or shoulder, does it hurt?"

The man shook his head as Lou put the mask on him.

"How about before, did you experience frequent back and shoulder pain? Trouble breathing?"

The patient nodded again.

Will immediately picked up his stethoscope in his pocket and checked for the heartbeat, and his eyes narrowed. He pulled out the earbuds of stethoscope from his ear as he stood straighter once more, stethoscope now hanging around his neck.

"I want a chest xray and blood work on him stat because there's a high–damn, he's on it!" the patient gasped for breath. His body arched back then he went unconscious. "Myocardial Infarction. Prepare the OR. STAT! Lou, give me the defibrillator!"

After two hours of successful operation on the delivery man, Will headed straight to the on-call room. He was regretting coming to work instead of resting at home when he was still suffering from jet lag, because technically he was still on leave from a medical mission in Peru so it wasn't necessary for him to go to work at the moment. When he reached the room, he opened the door.

"Oh look who's back from the middle of nowhere," Kayla Knowles greeted him. Lou and Cecil were also there in the room.

"I missed you too guys." Will smiled as he closed the door behind him.

"Five months without communication. Do you know how miserable we were?" Kayla exclaimed, tackling Will into a hug.

"Well, that's what happens when you got sent into a remote area where there's basically no reception" Will answered, returning Kayla's hug.

Kayla pulled away and looked up at Will. "Nico doesn't really know that you're back, does he?"

Will shook his head.

"Oh man. I wish we could see his reaction when he sees you," Cecil said. "He wouldn't say it out loud but he's probably more miserable than we were. I think Riley's the one who's expressing it vocally for the both of them since she's always crying and searching for you. She misses you a lot too."

Will smiled fondly at the mention of their seven year old adopted daughter, who came into their lives four years ago. He briefly remembered the abused and traumatic child, who was barely 3 years old and who he met in the emergency room of JHH. However, a lot of things had changed now. Riley was not the abused child he met before-she was more than that now. "I miss my family too. Now that you mention it, I have to pick up Riley from school later, so I should probably take a nap. Jetlag." he dove onto the nearest cot. "Anyways, there's something for you there. It's fresh from Peru, in the silver paper bag."

"Really?" Kayla said and the three of them started to dig in the paper bag.

"Why did you even go to work?" Kayla asked. "You should have stayed home."

"I know, but I missed the smell of the hospital. I missed you guys. . ." Will muttered, drifting off to sleep.

The three paused and looked at the blond doctor. They all smiled fondly at him.

* * *

Nico parked next to Will's Chevrolet that hadn't been used in five months. So much for being toasted by Detective Spielberg and the never ending pile of lab works at NYPD. He tiredly climbed out of his car and trudged towards the front porch of their house. He fished out his keys in his jeans' pocket and jammed it into the keyhole of the doorknob. The only thing he was looking forward to right now, was to be with his daughter who was probably already inside with her Aunt Hazel. She agreed on picking up her niece up from school since he couldn't get out of work.

Nico pushed the door open. He could already hear his daughter's laughter ringing from the kitchen. That mere sound already gave Nico an additional energy.

"Sweetie, where are you? Papa's home!" Nico called out as he put down his bag on the couch.

"Papa!" The ever energetic voice echoed as a small girl appeared in the kitchen. She had a shoulder length raven hair with bright blue eyes that were awfully similar to the eyes of his husband. Riley Solace-di Angelo ran towards Nico "Papa, I have a sur-" Riley frowned and paused mid-step, looking up at her father. "What happened to your face, Papa?"

Crap. Nico already forgot the small cut on the corner of his mouth, courtesy of the robber earlier in the morning, who by the way, got arrested together with his other accomplice just a while ago in their hideout. He was so busy that he wasn't able to properly tend that said cut. It must've formed a bruise by now. "Ah, this. . ." He was racking his brain for a good explanation fit for a seven year old kid.

"What about his face?" another voice demanded.

Nico looked up and blinked. Then he blinked some more while at the same time, willing his brain to process the figure in the kitchen doorway.

Because he was sure as hell that that figure was his husband who was narrowing his ever beautiful bright blue eyes at him as he walked towards him. Nico would've admired his husband in just sweatpants and a t-shirt with holes in it, if not for the murder look that Will was giving him.

Right. If there was one thing Nico had learned in their five years of marriage, it was to never show up at home where his husband could see the injuries, because the said husband had a doctor's instincts worse on his own family members.

"Babe, care to explain what happened to your handsome face?" Will held Nico's chin and lifted it sideways to inspect the cut closer.

"Ran into a pole," Nico said smoothly. Will would kill him if he learned that he sort of interfered again with the operation of the cops. This wasn't the first time it happened and every time it would happen, Will would swear at him that he was going to go into cardiac arrest from worry.

"You've been running into a pole a lot lately, don't you think?" Will's eyes were turning into slits as he looked again at Nico.

Double crap. He forgot that it was his same lame excuse last time it happened. Nico could swear that this was worse than the Detective Spielberg lecture earlier.

"Well, yeah. I wasn't looking-"

"Did you perhaps chase another bad guy and end up getting punched or hit in the process?"

Nico's reaction gave it all. Will glared at him. The blond turned to their daughter who was looking curiously at them. Will smiled sweetly at her "Sweetie, can you get the first aid kit in the bathroom under the sink cupboard? We're going to patch up Papa's cut."

"Sure, daddy." Riley bounced on her steps as she disappeared in the kitchen doorway.

Will turned around to face Nico.

"Nah-uh." Nico raised his index finger up to Will's mouth when he tried to speak, effecitvely stopping him from saying anything. "Before you lecture me on it. . ." Nico reached up for Will's lips, a little bit eager for Nico's liking, but he couldn't care at that moment because it was a miracle that Nico hadn't gone insane over the past five months he was missing his husband. Nico pulled away. "Goddamn it Solace. Five months. Five freaking solid months without any communication. Do you know how screwed up that is?"

"Hey, you were warned about it. Besides why do I feel like I'm the one who's being lectured here? You are-" Will was cut off when Nico kissed him again. Will couldn't help but kiss him back because it felt like there were no words anymore that could describe how much he wanted to be with Nico in those five months that had passed.

"Daddy, here's the box!" Riley's voice rang out.

The two separated immediately as their daughter reappeared again, holding a white box.

"Thank you, sweetie." Will picked up the box from Riley.

"Sit," Will commanded Nico. Nico immediately obliged, sitting on their long couch.

"Papa, what happened to your face?" Riley asked innocently looking up at Nico. She laid down on her stomach beside Nico, her elbows on Nico's thigh and her knees bent, legs swinging back and forth.

"Ran into a pole, sweetie," Will answered for him.

Will may not or may have been that gentle at dabbing Nico's cut.

"Papa's running into poles a lot lately." Riley said.

As a child's laughter rang out through the Solace-di Angelo household, the event that happened five years ago just became a distant memory now, especially on what happened in the Underworld.

 _Will cradled both sides of Nico's face in his hands and turned it to look at him._ _"Hey, it's all right. Even if it's not, we have to be okay with it because that's how everything goes whether we like it or not."_

 _Nico bowed his head, letting the painful truth sink in that he would be walking out alone from the Underworld._

" _How about we make a bargain," Bianca di Angelo's voice reverberated throughout the throne room._

 _All three heads snapped in her direction as Bianca walked towards them._

" _What bargain?" Hades spoke._

 _Bianca stopped in front of Lord Hades and bowed in respect. "Bargain for Will's life. You will let Will's soul go in exchange for something. You said that death has a high price to pay, right? Yes, interfering with the Fates doesn't always result to a good thing, but why can't we look on the brighter side? If Nico didn't interfere with the Fates and you didn't punish him into losing his memories, you wouldn't have been able to come up with a plan to retrieve the sceptre. Nero had kept it in a spell-casted vault every time he hadn't been holding it, so the death angels you sent couldn't even come close to the sceptre and retrieve it. Nico became your bait to lure out Nero and in the end, he succeeded," Bianca argued giving a side glance to the couple who seemed to be frozen on their spot._

" _And what price would that be?" Hades asked, seemingly showing an interest in Bianca's case._

 _She looked up at her father. "Will's soul in exchange for Will's light power. You've always mentioned something about his power being a constant annoyance and interference with the course of death so take it. Hypothetically speaking, if Will could go back to the land of the living, your migraine would lessen and everyone would be happy. Oh. . ." she turned her head again to Will. "You don't mind that Will, right? Or do you just want to stay in Elysium . . .?"_

 _Will nodded. "Yeah, I don't mind-"_

" _Will," Nico cut him off. "Are you sure about this? But your light powers are important-"_

" _Nico, you might not remember this, but this isn't the first time I'm willing to sacrifice my powers for you," Will shrugged. "I can manage. I can still function normally as a doctor without it. Besides, it's not like I can use it in Elysium."_

" _So that settles then." Bianca clapped her hands as she gazed at Lord Hades. "What do you think, father?_

 _Hades stared at Bianca. "Give me one valid reason on why I should agree to this and not incinerate all of you to dust?"_

 _Bianca was unfazed "Because you are our father. Dad, you protected Nico all this time so why not stop there? Just be our dad all the way to the end, you know? Nico didn't ask you for anything and this was the only thing he pleaded for. You said it before, your children are rarely happy and this-" she pointed at Will and Nico's clasped hands. "This is the opportunity to make Nico happy."_

 _Hades was silent._

" _Oh come on, dad, don't be-"_

" _All right." Hades raised his index finger to silence his daughter. "But . . ."_

 _The three froze in anticipation._

" _Both of you will be stripped of your powers," Hades continued. "When you get back to the living, both of you will be mortals. No powers, and you won't be able to see death angels anymore."_

 _And so the deal had been made._

" _I can give you anything, why does it have to be this?" Hades muttered. "I am going to regret this."_

" _No, dad." Bianca smiled at him. "Because you just became the world's greatest dad."_

In the present time, Will huffed in annoyance as he settled in bed. Will was leaning back against the headboard as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Nico paused in the middle of peeling off the duvet. He looked up at Will. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Nico slid into the bed beside Will.

"I mean you're not a first grader like our daughter so which part of the chasing-the-bad-guys-is-dangerous do you not understand?"

"Oh, I understand that part," Nico said, also leaning back against the headboard. "I guess it's just an innate response to me. I'm sorry though, for worrying you."

Will snorted. "If you were sorry you wouldn't do it again and again and again. You are not a freaking cop. Let the cops do their job instead, Nico. We aren't going to get a second chance from your dad down _there_ once you screw up and I become a single dad-"

"Hold on a second," Nico faced Will. "You're moving too fast on that one. No one's going to be a single dad here."

"Then stop coming home all bruised up and injured because you're doing something you aren't entitled to do!"

"Yeah, yeah. . ." Nico started to lean forward to kiss Will's neck, but Will moved away.

"I'm serious, di Angelo!"

"Tell you what, let's do the talking later and do something that couples normally do." Nico trapped Will so he wouldn't be able to move away. "It's been five months, Will. Gimme a break." He started to pepper kisses on Will's jaw as he shifted on top of Will.

"You're the one who should be giving me a break! I came back home, and found out that you're being reckless _again_ -" Will's resolve started to crumble when Nico's hands started to work their magic on him.

"Papa! Daddy!" the door burst open.

Nico and Will sprang away from each other as Riley charged at them.

"I can't sleep again," Riley said, climbing on the bed with Will helping her. She settled herself in between Nico and Will. "Please tell me the story of the angel who helped souls cross to the afterlife." She looked back and forth between her two fathers.

Nico sighed, tucking in their daughter. " _Amore,_ aren't you getting tired of it? You heard it hundreds of times."

"No." Riley shook her head. "It's fun, and I like it. The doctor and that angel story was the best story you've told me. I want to hear it again, please?"

The couple sighed in resignation. How could they win over a seven year old kid who was giving them the cutest puppy eyes that they don't even remember teaching her?

"So once upon a time," Will started. "There was a doctor who could see angels. These angels helped souls cross into the afterlife, and there was this certain angel that the doctor became friends with. . ."

 _ **END**_

* * *

 **YAY! My debt to you readers is all cleared.**

 **TCDL SOLANGELO WEDDING IS UP BY bmattny_16. But freaking ff won't allow me to link it so just check out bmattny's profile on wattpad. Her username is: 'bmattny_16' and the chapter is under 'PJO/HOO/TOA PROMPTS. If you want to know what happened to Will and Nico's wedding because as mentioned above they already got married, so bmattny covered that for us! Check it out, you're not going to regret it :)**

 **OH! THERE'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER CHAPTER, sort of like after credit scene in the movies. I'm watching a lot of marvel movies lately and this was what happened. it was also a conclusion on some scene that TCDL covered, like what happened after the war with Python and Nero and what happened to the other characters.**

 **Sooo. . .Click next page!**


	58. THE WRAP UP

**THE WRAP UP**

 **5 years ago. . .**

"So let me get the facts straight," Apollo started. "I know all of you are demigods but I don't know who exactly you're godly parent is. Do you know?"

With different cups of coffee on the table, the four of them, namely Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, and Apollo Charleston, settled at the table by the window of Starbucks the next morning after the Python fiasco. They sat on the couch, Jason and Apollo being nearest to the window. Reyna was sitting beside Jason, across from them was Apollo and Percy.

The latter three looked at each other and all of them shrugged.

"All of us never met our parents on the godly side." Percy air quoted the word godly. "Our mortal parents mostly didn't have any idea that they hooked up with a god and after a one-night stand. _Poof!_ Whoever those gods were they just vanished."

Apollo nodded in agreement "We're assholes that way."

"I know right," Jason muttered.

"But I have some assumptions as to whom my godly parent is" Reyna said "Based on my powers and weapons they left to me. Plus, I made some research."

"We made some research too and have some assumptions," Jason said.

"Oh yeah, the weapons you wielded last night," Apollo said nodding. "At least they're quite sentimental to leave you weapons. Most of the gods don't just leave something for their children especially if they decided to vanish from their lives."

"So who do you think your godly parents are?" the sun god continued.

"I can control water, breathe under water, and make mini hurricanes occur," Percy answered. "So I was thinking Poseidon. There's also a symbol of a trident on my sword anyway."

Apollo looked impressed. "That's one of the big three."

"Just you wait till you hear Jason's," Percy said.

"Not totally a big deal, dude," Jason said, then he sighed. "I can fly and summon lightning-"

"Let me guess, Zeus?" Apollo interrupted him.

"I was thinking Jupiter because I got a coin made of imperial gold which is what usually Romans used in building weapons back then. Is that even possible for there to be a roman and a greek side? Are they different or just one god. . .?"

"Totally different." Apollo sipped on his coffee. "I have a roman counterpart, after all." He looked at Reyna. "How about you?"

"Oh, just highly skilled with weapons than your average people out there. Our family heritage had been acquainted with the goddess Bellona, so it's most likely her." Reyna answered.

"Wait, I am curious," Percy said leaning forward and looking at Reyna. "Can you read minds because you can easily tell when a person's lying so. . ."

"Ah, that," Reyna snapped her fingers.

Outside the coffee shop just right by the window where they were sitting, two metal dogs appeared. One was gold and the other was silver. Jason yelped in surprise.

"Holy shit!" Percy exclaimed. Some customers looked at them, curious and also annoyed.

Jason looked around nervously and spoke in a low voice. "Can mortals see them?"

"No," Reyna answered. "They're covered by the mist. They are just going to bark when a person's lying. That's Aurum and Argentum. They are useful in interrogation and sniffing out the criminals in hiding. They can detect bombs too."

"You have your own K-9 units, dam," Percy said.

When Reyna snapped her fingers, the two dogs disappeared.

"Well, that's pretty impressive," Apollo said.

"But there's one thing I don't understand, Lord Apollo," Reyna said looking at Apollo.

"Apollo is fine," Apollo said.

"Apollo," Reyna corrected. "Why are you here in the mortal world? You mentioned something about living as a mortal, what does that mean?"

"I got punished by my dear father Zeus before-"

"Hold on a sec, does that mean we're siblings?" Jason looked at Apollo, mouth slightly open.

"Don't dwell on the technicalities, man. Gods don't exactly have DNA and the Olympian family is sort of twisted in its own way," Apollo said. "So as I was saying, I got punished because of someone else's mistake and Zeus stripped me of my divinity for the third time. I got redemption sometime later on and my godhood was given back to me. The thing is, when I became a mortal for the third time, I realized how much I enjoyed living here, so I stayed. Never stayed in Olympus for more than fifty years. A god's power could weaken if he doesn't go back to his home turf, which for me is Olympus and that's what basically happened to me. I didn't go back. I just got updates from Hermes on what's been happening back on Olympus."

Silence.

"What's going to happen to Will and Nico now?" Jason suddenly asked.

The image of Will Solace lying on the hospital bed unconscious crossed their minds. His bare chest was wrapped in a bandage and several tubes hooked to his body while an oxygen mask was on his face. They left his hospital room with Nico sitting on the chair beside Will's bed and falling asleep.

"Well, just like what Nico said before passing out, they're mortals now as a price of leaving the Underworld, which I'm not surprised of," Apollo answered, looking out the window. "Somehow, I could sympathize with them on that one. But I believe they'll do just fine. If there's one thing I learned from living here, power is not the only thing that can make your life go round and round."

"You said something about Olympus," Percy mentioned. "Where exactly is it?"

Apollo gave them a knowing smile. "Empire State Building."

"What?" All three exclaimed at the same time.

* * *

Will Solace woke up after about a week. Another more week passed before the tubes connected to his body were finally pulled out, except for the IV line. The upper frame of his bed was elevated so he could read more comfortably on his phone he was holding. He's been out for a while so he was catching up on the news.

Apparently, Triumvirate Laboratories was forced to be shut down after their CEO Nero Johansen had been arrested for being involved in a long time operating syndicate, and after discovering illegal weapons, drugs, and money hidden in the building. The explosion accident that happened there was concluded as a gas leak on the lower levels. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured and died in that event.

Oh, Will Solace was back on the news again. According to it, Will was shot after rescuing the love of his life, Nico di Angelo, who had been kidnapped by a psychopath named Bryce Lawrence, and had apparently died on the scene. The building where the said kidnapping had happened was set for demolition at the end of that month.

Will sighed at that news. He heard that Agatha was totally devastated on what happened that she didn't finish the internship at Jupiter Half-Blood Hospital, and moved to another town. Will didn't get a chance to talk to Agatha before she moved out but he made sure to check up on her as soon as he got discharged from the hospital.

Then he and Nico seemed to get the attention of the public because of the drama they created. Solangelo ship was sailing again and extended not just only on the walls of JHH. Will might have read a few blogs about them while Nico was still confused about it. To be honest, Will thought that the news about the kidnapping was a little bit exaggerated. His father mentioned something about taking care of what happened and he wouldn't be surprised if Apollo was involved in things like that. The news was a tad dramatic, after all, and the kind of drama that only Apollo would be able to come up with. Will was not really looking forward to another set of media interviews after getting out of the hospital.

"Knock, knock,"

He yelped in surprise, dropping the gadget in his lap. He looked to his side. Bianca di Angelo was standing there, her hand raised to the open window next to her. She was leaning back on the windowsill. Her long straight black hair was tied in a high ponytail. There was a smidge of eyeliner around her eyes, too. She wore a black leather jacket, and underneath was a white blouse half-tucked into her black skinny jeans she had buckled with a black thick leather belt. To finish the look, she also wore high heeled boots that reached her knee. All in all, she looked like she was ready to kick anyone's ass for pissing her off in an instant. Will was likely the candidate.

In spite of that, Will frowned.

"Yeah, I get it, you're not so thrilled to see me." Bianca stood straighter and walked around. Her eyes roamed as if trying to find something extraordinary to the plain hospital room.

"It's not that," Will said. "I just don't understand why I can still see you. I thought I lost the ability to see death angels. I actually haven't seen any death angels until you."

"Oh, don't worry, you still lost the ability." Bianca tapped the sunflower on the vase resting on the bedside table. The flowers were courtesy of Nico. "I retired from being a death angel, not that you cared about that, of course."

"Retired? Wow, I didn't know there was a retirement for your job. I thought it was for eternity," Will said putting down his phone on the bedside table.

"It is, but I'm special, so I can do it." Bianca sat at the edge of Will's bed.

"Of course you are." Will nodded. "Does Nico know you're here?"

"We just met a while ago for a proper goodbye and all. . ." Bianca answered. "He's probably on his way here now."

"You going somewhere again?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"I asked father to be reborn, so this is going to be the last time you're ever going to see me."

"Oh. . ."

"Please don't cry. I can't handle anymore crying after Nico."

"I'm not."

"Good."

"I never got a chance to thank you, you know," Will said, playing with the edge of his blanket. "For what you did for us back in the Underworld and everything before that. Thank you."

"Oh, it's mostly for Nico but sure, you're welcome."

Will rolled his eyes. "Gosh, you're gonna hate me until the end."

"It's one of my simple pleasures in life, my heartfelt hatred for you." Yet, Bianca di Angelo's eyes were twinkling as she smiled a little bit when she looked at Will.

Then Bianca's face turned serious. "Anyway, I don't have to tell you that you have to take care of Nico because I know you're certainly going to do it, right?"

"Why does it sound like a threat when you say it?"

"You might be surprised if you suddenly turned into a walrus because you failed to do something like that."

Will stared at Bianca."You're kidding, right?"

"Who knows. . ." Bianca shrugged as she stood up and turned to face Will. "But, Dr. Walrus sounds fun, doesn't it?"

Will stared some more

"You and Nico really lack self-preservation, you know?" Bianca continued "And because of that, you may see father again faster than you could blink, and I am not going to be there to save your asses again."

"Uh, your point?"

"I guess, just stay away from things that will give you a one-way trip to the Underworld. You're just regular mortals now and that makes you more vulnerable to the messed up things out there." She gestured toward the window.

Will was smiling. "Did you just become concerned for me?"

"The concern is mostly for Nico because he's going to be a wreck when you suddenly disappear"

"Bianca, if there's one thing you and Nico have in common, both of you are so bad at expressing your feelings out loud. Well, Nico is learning. You need a crash course on it."

"Careful, Solace, you might turn into a walrus."

Will clamped his mouth shut.

"Anyway, my stay here is long overdue. Just stay out of trouble . . . both of you. _Ciao_." Bianca walked towards the window and disappeared in a black puff of smoke.

"There's a door you know," Will muttered but he was smiling.

The door opened, revealing Nico di Angelo. "Why are you smiling?" He stepped in, closing the door behind him.

"Because you're here, and I might have learned that I was able to wedge my way in through the thick skin of hatred."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I love you. Come here." He gestured for Nico to come closer, which Nico gladly did.

* * *

Percy and Jason climbed into the police mobile car with Jason at the wheel.

"It's been two weeks since the Triumvirate Labs drama ended and I feel like I've aged ten years," Percy sighed, sliding into the passenger's side.

"Yeah, and it doesn't end there. You have another homicide case to take care of that is probably related to another syndicate. The file's in the back." Jason turned on the ignition.

"Yeah, yeah." Percy twisted his body to reach for the folder in the backseat but he froze when he saw something that shouldn't be there.

"Holy shit." Percy jerked back, facing the windshield. His eyes were wide.

"What?" Jason paused to look at him.

"I think I'm hallucinating so can you confirm something in the back."

Jason turned to look at it. His eyes widened too as he looked back at Percy.

"There's a gold bar sitting on the back seat," Jason said slowly. "There's also a note saying 'Token of thanks. -From H.'"

"Damn, it's real."

"Who the hell is H?"

"Dude, what we should be worrying about is if it came from the Federal Reserve, we could be in serious trouble because of it!"

"What are we going to do?"

"Let's call Annabeth."

* * *

 **Yes Percy if there's trouble call Annabeth :D**

 **That's it. I will now mark the TCDL as complete. Thank you so much for the readers who stayed with me from the beginning I published this, until the end, for the people who didn't stop waiting for the updates to come. Thank you. Also, for the new readers out there, yo! You're lucky that you didn't have to wait for ass long updates anymore. haahaha. Thank you for reading, subscribing and reviewing!**

 **My new solangelo fic on archiveofourown was up, entitled _Beauty and Madness._ My username there is nikki_ofshadows**

 **Until next time!**

 **~Nikki**


	59. Special Chapter: The Wedding

**OWKAY. This was like a came out of nowhere update. Remember when I told you that bmattny written a special chapter for TCDL? This was the chapter I'm talking about. Originally posted in wattpad but for some personal circumstances, bmattny had to delete her account on wattpad. So for not her writing to be wasted, I decided to just put it here. Enjoy!**

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Will's POV:

Long, white curtains hung from the tops of the open windows in the wedding hall and stopped a foot from the ground, pushed to the side and letting in beams of sunlight. Bunches of beautiful yellow and light orange sunflowers in clear vases sat on side tables under the windows, giving the place color. Scented white candles sat next to the vases and let off an intoxicating smell of pine and cotton, their flames still burning bright even though a nice breeze blew through the windows, making them flicker every few seconds.

Around the wedding hall, friends and families-all dressed up in a variety of white, black, yellow, or grey dresses and suits-of the two soon-to-be husbands chatted and laughed loudly, their voices traveling across the room. Some children-also dressed in fancy clothes-ran around chairs in the far back corner of the room, playing hide and seek or tag to keep them occupied until the wedding began and to also keep them away from the lit candles.

On the right side of the hall, five rows of chairs were set up to hold all of Will's friends and family. Lou, one of his best friends, sat in the second row with her parents and siblings, while Will's younger brother, Austin, sat at the front with Apollo Charleston, their dad. Dr. Kayla Knowles and Dr. Lee Fletcher from Will's work at Jupiter Half-Blood hospital both sat in the back with their enormous families, filling up the rest of the rows.

On the left side of the hall, another five rows were set up to look identical to Will's side. All of the chairs weren't completely filled, unlike Will's, but most were fortunately taken. At the front, Jason Grace and Percy Jackson both sat next to each other, two seats beside them unoccupied due to Hazel and Reyna helping Nico get ready. Their own families took up the two rows behind them, while the last row had no one.

One voice could be heard only by one person at the front of the room where the pastor was standing behind the alter, patiently waiting for the wedding to begin with a gentle smile on his face. Cecil Markowitz, Will's other best friend and best man, calmly stood beside a freaking out Will, his face of one of amusement as he watched his pretty-much brother pace in front of the alter.

His eyes lazily scanned over Will's appearance, not in a I'm-checking-you-out kind of way, but an admirable way. His best friend was actually pretty hot in a white suit and white button-down undershirt. The collar of his suit, his vans, and his bow tie were black, though, to give it a better contrast to all the white he had on. His tan complexion, blonde curls, and bright, sky blue eyes contrasted pretty well with his outfit.

"I'm really nervous, Cecil," Will said, running a hand through his messy blonde curls. Nico had told him to not style it because he loved Will's curls just as they were and didn't want anyone making them look different. "I don't want anything to go wrong. I'm marrying the love of my life today-wait, what if he doesn't say 'I do'?" Will stopped his pacing and looked up at his best friend with fear in his eyes. "What do I do then? What if he doesn't go through with it?"

Cecil rolled his eyes and gripped Will's shoulders to keep him from moving as he stared him down. "Will, you gotta stop doing this to yourself. It's normal to be nervous, yes, but this is just crazy. You're actually doubting Nico's love for you and that's not okay."

Will stayed quiet and his eyes dropped to the empty floor between them. "I know," he whispered. "I'm just scared, okay? I don't know what to do if anything like that ever _did_ happen."

Cecil lightly laughed and gave him a smile, squeezing his shoulders before crossing his arms over his chest. "Neither do I, man. I'm not married. But I know for a fact that you don't try to twist every good thing you have into something bad and think of all the horrible things that could happen. Let everything play out as it should, and try to relax."

Sighing, Will gave his best friend a small smile. "Thanks, Cecil."

"Anytime, Will. Now let's get you fixed up for your man," Cecil said as he adjusted Will's rumpled collar and lopsided bow tie.

Will laughed.

Nico's POV:

Nico stared into the dressing room mirror as he allowed his half-sister, Hazel, and close friend, Reyna, fuss over his hair and suit. His eyes and expression were completely calm, his posture not as fidgety as he thought it was going to be. He was surprisingly untroubled by the fact that he was going to be marrying Will today in front of all their close friends and family.

A small smile bloomed on his lips as he thought about Will. His beautiful fiancé and soon-to-be husband waiting just outside in the main room, probably smiling at everyone around him but also freaking out because of what was about to happen.

Reyna stood in front of him, blocking his view of himself in his black suit and white vans. She lazily adjusted an undone button on his also white undershirt and straightened his black bow tie as she hummed to herself. Nico wasn't much for dressing up and wearing fancy things such as a suit and bow tie, but it was his wedding day, and if he was honest with himself, he looked pretty damn handsome.

Hazel messed with his black hair that reached his shoulders behind him, brushing it out before pulling the top half of it into a half-up, half-down type of style. She mumbled to herself as she loosened it just perfectly to where it wouldn't fall out but made it look nice and fluffy at the same time.

"How are you so calm about this, Nico?" she asked as she walked around to re-check what Reyna had done with his clothes. She pulled a piece of black lint off his white shirt but other than that she seemed to be pretty satisfied with it. "You're going to be getting married in just a few minutes and you're not even nervous. No stutter in your speaking, no jitters." She looked up at his smiling face then. "And you're smiling! Why and how are you so calm about this?"

"Because, Haze," he said, his voice soothing as his smile grew and his dark chocolate brown eyes twinkled. "After everything that we went through, if I'm honest, this is nothing compared to that. I'm not saying that I'm not nervous on the inside and don't have butterflies floating around in my stomach right now, but I just think this isn't something that I should be worrying myself over. I know Will loves me, and I love him. I don't know if everything will turn out as planned, but I have faith that it will.

"And in a few minutes, when those doors open," he pointed towards the closed doors over his shoulder, not turning his head around to see where he was pointing at since he could see them through the mirror behind is shorter sister. "I'm going to go out there and marry him; my solace, my life, and my best friend. I'm finally going to fulfill my promise to him."

Hazel stared at him for a moment before her lips twitched into a smile and her eyes started to water, moved by how loving her brother sounded as he spoke about his fiancé. "When did you get so grown up and so romantic?" she teased, her voice now a light whisper.

Nico only smiled and kissed her forehead.

Reyna had stepped away to give them privacy as they had their small moment, and was now smiling fondly at them both, her arms crossed over her own black suit that hugged her curves perfectly. "You ready?" she asked, drawing their attention.

Nico exchanged smiles with her before nodding. "Ready."

Third person POV:

Apollo checked the time on his watch, realizing that the wedding was about to finally begin. He quickly sent a "Got to go, kiddo." to Austin before making his way over to the nearby piano, giving a calmer-looking Will a thumbs up and a bright smile as he passed. Will smiled back before continuing on talking with Cecil, who stood beside him in his "best man" spot for the wedding.

Apollo pulled the seat out from under the piano and sat down, adjusting his coat so he wasn't sitting on it. He opened the piano up and placed his fingers over the keys, lightly tapping them to get a feel for the music.

He cast a look to the side where Reyna was supposed to appear and let him know to start playing, finding her already there. She gave him a small smile and a light nod before walking out of sight, reappearing at her seat next to Jason a few moments later.

Apollo closed his eyes and immersed himself into the sound and feel of the piano music. He moved his hands professionally across the keys, smiling at how amazing the music sounded. He was quite proud of himself for coming up with and memorizing such a beautiful song. He was glad his son and soon-to-be son-in-law counted Inside Out as _their_ song. He loved the piano version of it, though he much rather preferred to play it on his guitar. That would come later, of course, at their after party.

As he continued on playing, everyone around him noticed the music had started and sat in their respected seats. Some grabbed their children and pulled them into their laps so they wouldn't move and disrupt the wedding.

Will and Cecil seized their conversation with a "Good luck, man!" from Cecil before Will turned towards the closed doors that Nico would be coming out of with Hazel. He clasped his hands together so he wasn't awkwardly holding them by his side and stared intently at the doors, willing them to open sooner rather than later.

Once everyone was settled, the doors slowly opened, and a breathtaking view was presented to Will.

His eyes instantly started to water, and he allowed the tears to fall down his cheeks as he watched Nico walk down the aisle, his arm hooked around Hazel's.

Hazel, of course, looked beautiful as always in a knee-length white dress and black heels that accentuated her chocolate skin tone beautifully. Her caramel colored curls were pulled back in a high bun, and her golden eyes that Will adored sparkled with happiness for both Will and Nico.

But Nico, on the other hand, was a completely different picture. His hair was pulled back, showing off his slightly tan complexion and small hooked nose. His dark brown eyes bore into Will's as he continued walking down the aisle, already half-way to the alter. His suit looked perfect on him and Will was glad he had chosen the one he did, rather than the light grey one Will himself had picked out a few months back.

Only a few more steps.

Nico finally stood before him, a smile on his face and tears in his eyes, though Will noticed he was trying hard not to let them fall. He turned to Hazel and gave her a big kiss on the cheek, which she happily returned before giving him a hug and taking her place as Nico's "best man".

Will's hands were unfortunately extremely sweaty but Nico didn't seem to mind as he grabbed them and held them close, taking a step forward to be in the center of the alter with Will.

"Hi," Nico whispered, a smile on his lips.

"You look _amazing_ ," Will responded with instead of a simple greeting, his voice semi-breathless, as he scanned over Nico's outfit. A couple of "aw"s came from around the room, and they both chuckled-Nico's more of a giggle rather than a laugh.

"Thank you, so do you."

Will gently squeezed his hands.

"We will now begin the wedding," the pastor said to them, his voice soft.

Will spared him a glance and nodded before resuming staring into Nico's eyes, getting lost in them.

Time passed pretty quickly after that, unfortunately and fortunately. Will would've loved to stay in the position he was already in forever but he also didn't want it to take too long so he could finally kiss his fiancé.

"Will," the pastor said, drawing his attention. "You may now say your vows."

Will hadn't even noticed it was time for the vows until the pastor said something to him, earning a few laughs from around the room and from Nico, and a dark blush on his cheeks.

"Right, thank you," Will said, sighing. He turned his attention back to Nico. "Nico, ever since I met you, my life took me to a whole new level." Nico chuckled, knowing exactly what he meant. "But whether it was good or bad, I'm glad that I got to experience everything with you. As cliché as it may sound, I can't imagine my life without you, Nico di Angelo, in it. Our lives are tangled together for better or for worst, and I am always going to be with you and by your side, even in the afterlife. I love you more than anything in the world."

Around them, others were crying, quickly wiping and dabbing at their eyes so as to not mess up their makeup and appearance, though Will didn't notice since he was so occupied with staring at Nico.

Nico finally couldn't hold the tears back any longer as they spilled down his cheeks, his smile growing a little bit more.

Hazel came up beside them and handed Will Nico's ring on a small grey pillow.

The ring itself, as well as the smaller, but matching one that was sitting next to it, was a beautiful gold band with one strip of silver wrapped around it, signifying the "angel" part of Nico's name and the "Solace" part of Will's name.

Will turned to Nico and carefully slipped the ring onto his left ring finger, finding it was a perfect fit. "With this ring, I take you, Nico di Angelo, as my husband, who I shall cherish and love for all eternity."

Nico admired the ring for only a moment before using his free hand to wipe at his tears. He retook Will's hands in his and prepared to say his own vows. "Will," he sighed, sniffling. "We've been through a lot. Well, I guess that's what happens when you're in a committed relationship." They, and a few others, chuckled. He sighed once more, taking a deep breath. "With that being said, I can't promise you that every single day will be sweet. The struggles and arguments that we'll face will never be over, but if there's one thing I know, it's that I will always be there by your side no matter what happens because you're a part of me and I'm a part of you. Forever, even in the afterlife." Will smiled at Nico's repeat of his own words. Nico's smile softened and he gently squeezed Will's hands before bringing them both up to his lips and kissing his knuckles. "I love you so much," he finished with, his voice barely above a whisper as another tear fell down his cheek.

He turned to Hazel, who was silently crying and smiling at them, and took Will's ring from the pillow. Hazel went back to her spot as he resumed looking at Will, and shakily slipped the ring onto Will's left ring finger. "With this ring, I take you, William Solace, as my husband, who I shall cherish and love for all eternity."

The both continued holding hands, tighter than before, as the pastor ended the wedding with, "You may now kiss the groom."

Nico smirked. "May I steal my first kiss as your husband or do I need to ask for permission?"

Will's smile grew, his eyes crinkling at the corners and lighting up from the sunlight seeping in through the windows as he was hit with a sudden wave of déjà vu. He didn't say anything as he gently held Nico's face in his hands and leaned down to kiss him.

Nico smiled into the kiss and responded with moving his lips just as slowly, enjoying the feeling of his now-husband's lips against his own.

Cheers and loud hollers-that were more than likely from Jason and Percy-started around the room as they kissed, pulling away a few seconds later.

The pastor closed his Bible and smiled at them, holding out his hand for Will to shake. "Congratulations. I hope you two have a wonderful life together."

Will smiled and shook his hand. "Thank you very much."

Nodding, the pastor turned and walked away, a fond smile on his face from seeing yet another lovely couple join in holy matrimony.

Will grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him down the aisle, anxious to get into the limo waiting outside so he could kiss his husband some more. Sunflowers were suddenly being thrown over them as they walked down, and flashes of light from the professional photographer they had hired shown brightly in their eyes. They laughed and turned their walking into a run so as to avoid the flowers.

They were just about to walk out the doors when movement caught Nico's eye in the dark corner of the room. He stopped and turned toward it, realizing his father, Hades, and a death angel, who Nico noticed was Bob, stepped out of the shadows.

"Will," Nico whispered to his husband, gesturing toward his dad and the death angel.

"How are we able to see Bob? I thought we couldn't anymore after what happened?" Will asked.

"I don't know," Nico said, shrugging, as they walked over. They stopped in front of the Lord of the Underworld and Nico tipped his head so as to not draw attention to them like he would have if he had bowed. "Father."

"Nico," Hades said, also tipping his head.

"How is it were able to see Bob right now?" Will asked again. "And how is he as tall as us and not as tall as the building?"

Hades sighed and rolled his eyes. "He never got to say goodbye to you guys and asked if he could come wish you good luck before he completely vanished from your eyes forever. As for his height, being a god has its pros."

Will nodded, and they both turned toward Bob, who was eyeing their joined hands with a smile.

"Congratulations," he said, his voice rough.

"Thank you," Will said. "It's good to see you again, Bob, even though it's the last time."

Bob nodded, his smile still on his face but his eyes sad. "Yes, indeed. I hope you two are happy together."

Nico suddenly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the death angel's shoulders, taking all of them by surprise since he didn't normally show affection so openly. "Thank you, Bob, for everything," he whispered, his eyes watering again. "I have hope that we will see each other again one day." He pulled away, a small smile gracing his lips.

Bob wiped his own tears away and sniffled. "No, thank you. You and your sister were the kindest to me out of all the death angels so I thank you for that."

Nico hugged him one last time before Will did, and, right before their eyes, the death angel vanished in a puff of black smoke as Hades snapped his fingers.

Nico's tears streamed down his face as he stared at the spot he knew Bob was still standing in, though they couldn't see him anymore. "Goodbye, Bob," he whispered, knowing he could still hear him.

Hades awkwardly cleared his throat, feeling a bit uncomfortable from the emotion his son was emitting.

"Well, it's time for me to go, too," he said as Nico turned toward him. "Congratulations on the wedding and everything, son."

"Thank you, dad," Nico said, wiping his tears away once more as Will hugged him into his side.

Hades held out his hand for Will to shake, which Will reluctantly did. He gave his son a quick hug and pat on the back before saying one last goodbye and also vanishing in a puff of black smoke.

"We'll see Bob again," Will whispered in his ear, trying to soothe Nico with his words. "One day." He kissed his forehead as he pulled him out the doors.

They received many congratulations and teary smiles as they made their way to the white limo parked by the curb. They both earned themselves hugs and kisses on their cheeks, too, and Will was handed a bouquet of sunflowers from Hazel as well as a threat in case he ever hurt Nico, which he happily replied with, "Never".

The were finally at the limo door and were just about to step inside when yet another disturbance popped up.

Right beside Nico, an adorable little girl who looked exactly like _her_ stood beside him, a purple dress draped around her body. Nico stared at her with wide eyes, his eyes quickly scanning over her facial features and hair. Her straight black hair was pulled back into a side braid, and her nose was slightly hooked. Her dark chocolate brown eyes bore into his, examining him as well. There was no doubt in his mind that this was _her_.

"Why are you guys dressed like that, mister?" she asked Nico, her voice soft and angelic.

Nico couldn't find the words to respond, not knowing what he was supposed to say to her look alike.

"Is there a dance party going on?" she asked, a bright smile breaking out on her face as she jumped up and down.

Will snorted, his face scrunched up in a weird way.

"Hey, your face looks like a walrus', mister!" she laughed, pointing at Will.

Nico couldn't help the laugh that tore out of his throat as he looked over at Will's surprised and taken aback look on his face. It was then that he realized Will hadn't seen what he saw when she first showed up until now. He wondered why it had only kicked in now when she called him a walrus, and mentally noted to ask him about it later.

Nico bent down to be at eye-level with the little girl and smiled fondly at her.

A woman came running up behind her and stopped, breathing heavily as she grabbed her hand. "I'm so sorry she disturbed you," she said to them before turning her attention to the little girl. "Riley, you can't just run off like that. It's not safe."

Nico's heart fluttered at the name.

"I'm sorry, mommy," Riley whispered, her smile falling off her face.

Nico smiled up at the woman. "It's alright, ma'am. She was just curious about why we're dressed up." He turned his attention back to Riley who was staring at him with her big dark brown eyes. "We're dressed up because my husband and I just got married," he said, gesturing to Will behind him with his head. "We needed to be dressed up for our wedding, didn't we?"

"Oh, really?" Riley squealed, her smile returning. "That's so nice! I love weddings!"

The woman smiled at Will and Nico. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," they both said, returning the smile.

"Congratulations!" Riley slowly said, trying to pronounce the long word. Nico laughed as her eyes crossed and her nose scrunched up in thought.

"Thank you," he whispered, saying it for two very different reasons, though Riley only knew it as a thank you for her congratulating them.

"Well, we have to go now. But I hope you two have an awesome day. Congratulations again," the woman said, turning around with Riley.

"Bye, misters!" Riley shouted, waving behind her as she trailed after her mother who was still holding her hand.

Nico waved too as he stood up. They both watched them until they disappeared from their sight.

"Riley," Will said, testing the name on his tongue. "I really like that name."

"I do too," Nico whispered. "Did you see it?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah," Will said, nodding. "She has the same looks, and her voice actually kind of sounded the same, though much softer. Do you think it's her?"

"Yes."

Will and Nico exchanged looks before stepping into the limo, taking their seats next to each other.

The windows were tinted and the small window in-between the passengers and the driver was thankfully closed.

Will pulled Nico into his lap without a moments hesitation and rested their foreheads together, smiling at his husband.

"Hey, I have a question for you," Nico said.

"Shoot."

"When Riley showed up, you didn't notice that she looked like her until after she called you a walrus. Why's that?"

Will sighed. "Well, remember when I was in the hospital after... _that_... happened?"

Nico nodded.

"Well, she came to visit me right before you got to my hospital room one day and basically threatened to turn me into a walrus if I ever hurt you."

Nico laughed. "That does sound like something she would do."

"Mhm," Will hummed, closing his eyes.

Nico stared at him, noticing his smile had slowly fallen off his face. "Hey," he whispered, grabbing Will's face in his hands. He waited until his husband looked at him to ask if he was alright. "What's the matter?"

"I'm thinking about my mom."

"Oh," Nico said, his happy mood immediately deteriorating.

"I wish she could've been here."

"I know, I do too."

Nico wrapped his arms around Will's neck and held him close as he silently cried into his shoulder. "We'll see her again. One day," he said, repeating Will's own words.

Will pulled away, a small smile on his lips.

Nico brushed Will's tears away with his thumbs and stared into his eyes. He couldn't believe Will was finally officially his.

"Will?" he whispered.

"Hm?" Will hummed.

Nico swept forward and gave him a passionate kiss, moving their lips slowly together before pulling away and holding him tightly to his chest.

"Thank you for coming into my life."

Will smiled and pulled him into another passionate kiss, a similar wave of déjà vu like from earlier hitting him again, though he ignored it.

They continued showing their love for one another as the limo made it's way to their after party

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 **NOTE: PLS. DO NOT BE CONFUSED with the Riley mentioned in this chapter and the Riley who was Nico' and Will's daughter in the previous chapter. THEY ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON. The couple just named their adopted daughter after the Riley here because of the, well, she's the rebirth of Bianca.**

 **I guess that's all. I've had this copy for a long time but I just didnt have time to post it here because life. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you as always for the people who were continuously subscribing here and reviewing even though this story was long finish. Thank you so much!**


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